
'■-..., ... ... 

Glass 



Book 



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REPUBLICAN 




■FOR- 



1882 



CONTENTS: 

(For Extended Table ©f Contents, see Pages iii to viii.) 



Chap. I. Spirit of the Solid South. 
" II. Contested Election Cases. 

" III. Usurpations of Democracy. 

" IV. Political Assessments. 

'• V. Appointments and Removals. 

'• VI, Corruption of Dem. Party. 

" VII. Bounties far Treason. 
" VIII. River and Harbor Appropria- 
tions. 
" IX, Chinese Question. 

" X. Union Soldiers in the Depts. 



Chap. XI. Pensions and Bounties. 

XII. The Tariff. 
" XIII. Who pays the National Debt. 
■« XIV. Homestead Question. 

XV. The National Banks. 
" XVI. Reduction of Taxation. 
" XVII The Public Lands. 
" XVIII. Financial Record of the Re- 
publican Party. 
" XIX. Republican Economy. 
" XX. The National Platforms. 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE, 

WASHINGTON, D. C, 

1882. 



h 



^"" 



Piepared l>y WILLIAM E. KOTT, Librarian of the Department of the Interior, under the 
directio of the Republican Congressional Committee. 






Printed by The National Republican Printing and Publishing Co. 
Washington, D. C. 






CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Spirit of the Soli<l South. 

PART I— Page 1— Wade H ampton's 
Speech at Staunton, Virginia. 

PART II— Page 2— The Confederate 
Brigadiers in the Senate — They eulo- 
gize Jett' Davis, and would Pension 
him and the Confederate Soldiers — 
How they Voted — Zach Chandler's 
scathing denunciation. 

PART III— Page 4— Testimony of the 
Representative Press of the South as 
to the Demon -like rule of the Bour- 
bons. 

PART IV— Page 5— Further testimony 
as to the lawless and corrupt rule of 
the Bourbons. 

PART V— Page 7— Convicted Bourbon 
ballot-box staffers in Mississippi lion- 
ized by the Bourbon "Beauty and 
Chivalry" — Fines inflicted by Federal 
courts reimbused the criminals by 
money raised through public enter- 
tainments — Proceedings of a public 
meeting at West Poiut, Mississippi. 

PART VI — Page 8 — Assassination of 
Col. L. W. R. Blair, a Green backer 
and United States Supervisor at Cam- 
den, South Carolina — A Cold-blooded 
Atrocity — A Brave Old Man Seventy 
Years Old Murdered by a Bourbon 
Leader — Previously Mobbed in the 
presence of Hampton, Kennedy & Co. 
— Persecuted and Slandered— High 
Character of the Victim. 



CHAPTER II. 

Contested Election Cases in House of 
Representatives at the First Session 
of the 47tu Congress. 

PART I— Page 10— An Exposition of 
the Constitution and Laws governing 
cases of Contested Elections before 
the House of Representatives. 

PART II— Page 13— Lynch vs. Chal- 
mers. 

PART II— Page 24-Reed's Amendmeut 
to the Rules of the House— Disgrace- 



ful Filibustering and Revolutionary 
Expedients and Proceedings of the 
Democratic Leaders of the House to 
defeat all investigations into the facts 
or merits of the Contested Election 
Cases. 

PART III— Page 27— Mackcy vs. O'Con- 
nor. 

PART IV— Page 38— Lowe vs. Whee- 
ler. 

PART V— Page 44— Bisbee vs. Finley. 

FART VI— Page 49— Smalls vs. Til- 
man. 

PART VII— Page 58— Gerrymandering 
Extraordinary Illustrated by the Bour- 
bon Democracy. 

PART VIII— Page 62— Grand Ques- 
tions for the Solution of the Nation- 
Shall the majority rule? — Shall the 
Constitution and the laws be enfor- 
ced, or the Bourbon Minority be al- 
lowed to rule through Lawlessness 
and Fraud % 



CHAPTER III. 



Usurpations of the Democracy through 
Lawlessness an<l£JFran<i. 

PART I— Page 6.5— " Counting in" a 
Democratic Invention, and peculiarlv 
a Democratic Practice — "Counting ii?' 
of James K. Polk as President in 1844 
— Of James Buchanan in 1857 — The 
Disastrous Consequences to the 
Nation — The attempted "Counting in" 
of Samuel J. Tilden in 1876 — A Brief 
Review of the immense Democratic 
Frauds in the Campaigns of 1844 and 
1857 compared with those of 1876. 

PART II— Page 68— Democratic Cry 
that Tilden m 1876 was elected Presi- 
dent — That Tilden. was Counted Out 
by the Louisiana and Florida Rerurn- 
ing Boards— That notwithstanding, 
Tilden had an immense Majority of 
the Popular Vote — Hie cry a part of 
the Tilden Conspiracy in 1 ; ?; to seize 
the Presidency through Lawlessness 
and Fraud, 



CONTENTS. 



PART III— Page 69— Statistics in Illus- 
tration of the above— The Presiden- 
tial Election in 1844— James K. Polk, 
in a populor Minority of 24,119, re- 
ceived in the Electoral Colleges a 
Majority of 65. 

PART IV— Page 71 — What was Til- 
den's majority ?— What its Character ? 
—Was it the Result of a Lawful Vote, 
or the Violent Product of wholesale 
Fraud ?— The vote of 1876. 

PART V— Page 73— Florida in 1876— 
Bloody Violence failing, Fraud and 
Judicial Usurpation resorted to — A 
Brief History of the entire series of 
Fraudulent Proceedings by which 
Tilden strove to Capture its Electoral 
vote — Facts, Figures, and Incidents. 

PART VI— Page 76— Louisiana in 1876 
— Its Population and Votes— The Ku- 
Klux Crimes of 1868— Tilden Rifle 
Clubs of 1876— Murderous Outrages 
in Seventeen Parishes — State Return- 
ing Board— Its Duties— Infamy of 
Tilden and the Democracy. 

PART V— Page 79— R e 1 a t i v e Geo- 
graphical Area, Wealth, Population 
and Intelligence in 1876 of the Hayes 
and Tilden States. 

PART VIII— Page 81— T he United 
States under the Forty-Sixth Congress 
an Oligarchy. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Political Assessments — Their Origin 
With the Democratic Party, and their 
History. 

PART I— Page 92— The Conspiracy of 
1876 of the Confederate Brigadiers 
and Copperhead Democracy to wrest 
the Control of the National Govern- 
ment from the hands of the Republi- 
can Majority. 

PART II— Page 94— The Contribution 
Circular of the Republican Congres- 
sional Committee — Senator Pendle- 
ton's Resolution and Speech, in the 
United States Senate, on Political 
Assessments. 

PART III— Page 95— Statesmen as 
Claim Agents— The Pendleton- Belk- 
nap Kentucky Central Railroad Job — 
Pendleton assesses tifty per cent, of 
the Proceeds. 

PART IV— Page 96— Pendleton's Quali- 
fications as a Civil Service Reformer 
— His War and Financial Records — A 
Typical Copperhead Democrat— Theo- 
retically Virtuous and Patriotic. 

PART V— Page 97— Senators Allison and 
-Hale, members of the Republican 



Congressional Committee, in the Sen- 
ate, dispose of Pendleton's Absurd 
Served — Mr. Hiscock, a member of the 
Committee, disposes in the House of 
Springer's and Sitizen Samcox's hyp- 
ocritical Palaver. 

PART VI— Page 99— George William 
Curtis's circular to Government Em- 
ployees respecting the Republican 
Congressional Committee's Contribu- 
tion Circular — Correspondence of 
Chairman Hubbell and Curtis — Opin- 
ions of Attorney- General and Letter 
of Secretary Folger — Curtis in the role 
of Reformer. 

PART VII— Page 103— Origin of Politi- 
cal Assessments — They have their 
Rise in the Corrupt Party Practices of 
the Democratic Party. 

PART VIII— Page 105— The Covode In- 
vestigation in 1860 — It Covers the Pe- 
riod from 1853 to 1860— Its Exposure 
Amid the Corruptions of Pierce's and 
Buchanan's Administration of Parti- 
san Assessments as a Cardinal Fea- 
ture of the Democratic Organization 
— President Buchanan and Governor 
Hendricks Superintend the collec- 
tions. 

PART IX— Page 108— Further Proofs 
from the Unpublished Records of the 
Department of the Interior of the 
manner in which these partisan As- 
sessments were made and collected 
under Presidents Pierce and Buchan- 
an by the Democratic Party. 

PART X— Page 111— The law of 1876, 
prohibiting Political Assessments — 
Some facts in the History of its Pas- 
sage. 

PART XI— Page 113— Further exposure 
of the False Pretenses of Pendleton, 
Randall, Cox, and Curtis, in the Mat- 
ter of Political Assessments. 



CHAPTER V. 

Appointments and Removals— The Guil- 
lotine. 

PARTI— Page 115— Washington's Ad- 
ministration. 

PART II— Page 116— John Adams's and 
Jefferson's Administrations. 

PART III— Page 118— Removals and the 
Question of Patronage. 

PART IV— Pagell9— Retrenchment and 
Reform and Reduction and Purifica- 
tion of the Patronage. 

PART V— Page 120— Executive Patron- 
age "had increased, was increasing 
i) and should be diminished" — Reform 



CONTENTS. 



was necessary — Jackson pledged to 
cleanse "the Augean Stables "—His 
popularity iu consequence — Number 
of Officers doubled under Jackson — 
Consequent increase of expenditures, 
&c. 

PART VI— Page 121— Specimens of the 
Appointment Literature of the Time. 

PART VII— Page 122— " To the Victors 
belong the Spoils." 

PART VIII— Page 123 — Van Buren's 
Administration simply an addendum 
of Jackson's in the matter of Remo- 
vals and Appointments— Nevertheless 
Van Buren removed 360 Postmasters, 
etc — He appointed none but Partisans 
or Democratic Reformers to Office. 

PART IX— Page 123— The Guillotine 
under the Whigs. 

PART X— Page 127— The Guillotine un- 
der President James K. Polk. 

PART Xl-Page 128-The Guillotine 
Again Under the Whigs. 

PART XII— Page 129-The Guillotine 
Under Pierce and Buchanan. 

PART XIII— Page 133— Removals and 
Appointments under Presidents Gar- 
field and Arthur. 

PART XIV— Page 135— Brief Review 
of the Foregoing Sketch of Appoint- 
ments and Removals. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Maladministration and Corruption of 
the Democratic Party in Control of 
National Government- 

PART I— Page 137— Ratios of Demo- 
cratic defalcations compared with Re- 
publican honesty. 

PART II— Page 138— " Retrenchment, 
Economy, and Reform " of the Peck- 
sniffian Democracy — From 1828. 

PART III— Page 138 -Inauguration of 
Andrew Jackson, the founder of Mod- 
ern Democracy — " To the Victors be- 
long the Spoils." 

PART IV— Page 138— National Humili- 
ation and Disgrace and Great Pecun- 

[ iary loss the Total of Jackson's Re- 
forms — Confession in 1839 of Demo- 
cratic Minority of Harlan Committee. 

PART V— Page 139— " Feculent, reek- 
ing Corruption" — A long array of De- 
faulters in the Mexican War — Its pro- 
digious Expenditures and Plunder. 



PART VI— Page 139— Mammoth Frauds 
of Washington "Rings" under Pres- 
ident Pierce and Buchanan — Pierce's 
" Outlaws of the Treasury " — The act- 
ual and proposed plunder under Pierce 
estimated at $300,000,000!— Buchanan's 
Administration simply a continuation 
of Pierce's Reign of Plunder and Tyr- 
anny in Support Slavery. 

PART VII— Page 140— Immensely In- 
creased Democratic Expenditures — 
Increased Taxation of the People to 
Support this System of Wholesale Cor- 
ruption, Plunder and Fraud. 



CHAPTER VII. 



Bounties for Treason through Unlaw- 
ful Claims to Ex- Con federates. 

PART I— Page 141 — Northern Stump 
Argument Proving that No Dauger 
Exists from Rebel Claims. 

PART II— Page 142— $2,492,899,926 Exac- 
ted by the Solid South as Compensa- 
tion for Treason — A Sum Greater than 
the National Debt Demanded by 
Those who Created it— Northern Tax- 
payers Invited to Foot the Bill. 

PART III— Page 144 — "Justice and 
Right" the basis of Rebel Demands — 
Rebel Claims a "Part of the war debt 
of the Nation" and must be paid, 



PART IV— Page 145— How Rebel Claims 
Grow — Fecundity of Rebel mules — 
^Esthetic Fence Rails and expansive 
Pork. 

PART V— Page 146— A Brief Review of 
some of the Rebel Claims — Direct Tax 
— Cotton Tax — Special Relief — Des- 
truction of Property- -Compensation 
for Slaves- -Rebel Mail Contractors, 
&c— They Already Reach Three 
Thousand Millions of Dollars--" Where 
will it end F 

PART Vl-Page 147-The Southern 
Mail Contractors' Fraud --An attempt 
at Wholesale Robbery by Southern 
Statesmen, by means of barefaced 
Falsehood— How Congressman Wil- 
lits stopped the Steal. 

PART Vll-Page 152-Another Enter- 
ing Wedge— The William and Mary 
College Steal. 

PART VHI-Page 155- Conger's Pro- 

f)osed Constitutional Amendment Pro- 
libiting Payment of Rebel Claims— 
The Vote Thereon— It is Opposed to 
Democratic Policy to make Loyalty a 
Test for Rebel Claimants. 



CONTENTS. 



PART IX~Page 153-The great danger 
from Democratic Ascendency— The 
Neal Dow Case-How a rebel court 
aided by a Democratic Judge of the 
Supreme Court proposed to steal from 
a Union Colon al. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Tlie River and Harbor Appropriation. 

PART 1-Page 154-Report of the Com- 
mittee on Commerce. 

PART II -Page 155 - The President's 
Special Message. 

PART III- Page 155 - Debate in the 
House. 

PART IV— Page 159-The Bill in the 
Senate. 

PART V-Page 159-The two Houses 
pass the Bill. 

PART VI- Page 158-President Arthur 
. Vetoes the Bill. 



CHAPTER IX. 



The Chinese Question. 

PART 1-Page 161- Chinese Question 
in California. 

PART II-Page 162-Republican Record 
Against Chinese Immigration, &c. 

PART Ill-Page 162- Further Record 
of the two Parties on the Chinese 
Question. 

PART IV-Page 164-The Chinese Bill 
of 1882. 

PART V-Page 165- President Arthur 
Vetoes the Bill. 



CHARTER X. 

Confederate Soldiers under Democratic 
Congress — Union Soldiers in the De- 
partments. , 

PART 1-Page 167 -Democratic Civil 
Service Reform in the House— Woun- 
ded and Crippled Union Soldiers 
Kicked Out to Give Place to Rebel 
Soldiers— "Dinna ye hear the Slogan" 
— 'Tis Jeff Davis and His Men. 

PART II-Page 168- "Civil Service Re- 
form" in a Democratic Senate— A 
Rule, adopted in 1854 4 for "Spoils," is 
Abrogated in 1879 for "Spoils"^ Con- 



federate Soldiers to the Fore, and 
Union Soldiers Bounced. 

PART III —Page 169-The Washington 
Police- -"Put None but Confederates 
on Guard" will be the Watchword 
when Democrats obtain full Power— 
The preliminary Steps already taken. 

PART IV- Page' 169 -Senator Harri- 
son's Report on Vorhees' Resolution 
--The man who Denounced Union 
Soldiers as "Lincoln's Dogs" in 1864, 
is Solicitous for their Welfare in 
1882. 



CHAHTER XI. 

Pensions and Bounties. 

PART 1-Page 173-Bill for Equaliza- 
tion of Bounties in 43d Congress onl j 
failed to become a law by being pas- 
sed too late to receive Presidents sig- 
nature- -Representative Democrats m 
House Vote against it— Only one |)em- 
ocrats in Senate voted for it. 

PART II-Page 173-Pensions - T he 
Fundamental Pension Act of July 14, 
1862, etc. 

PART Ill-Page 175-Arrears of Pen- 
- sions a Republican Measure. 

PART IV-Page 176-The Democratic 
Record— So Called. 

PART V-Page 177-The Clerical Force 
in the Pension Ottice. 



CHAPTER XII. 

The Tariff. 

PART 1-Page 178 -" Encouragement 
and protection" to American iudustry 
the "True American System"— Its Ad- 
vocates Illustrous Statesmen of Prac- 
tical Genius— Washington, Franklin, 
Hamilton, Calhoun, Clay, Andrew 
Jackson, Madison, John Q. Adams, 
Webster, Garfield, Lincoln, and 
Grant. 

PART II-Page 179-Protection to 
American Industry the Cause Under- 
lying the Struggle in 1776 for Ameri- 
can Independence. 

PART Ill-Page 179-Protection under 
the Confederation. 

PART IV-Page 180-Protection under 
the Government of the Constitution. 

PART V-Page 180- American Manu- 
factures from 1795 to Peace of 1815. 

PART Vl-Page 181-Tariff of 1816. 

PART VH-Page 183-Subsequent Tar- 
iffs from 1816 to 1842, 



CONTENTS. 



PART VIII- Page 184-Tariff of 1842. 

PART IX-Page 184-Tariff of 1846. 

PART X-Page 188-Free Trade -Its 
History Under Our Government- 1 lie 
Handmaid of Slavery and Secession. 

PART XI— Page 191— The South under 
the Rule of its Free Trade Dogmas. 

PART XII— Page 193— The So-called 
Morrison Tariff' of 1876— Prepared by 
the English Cobden Club for the Rum 
of American Industry— Supported m 
House by the Democrats, but beaten 
by the Republicans. 

PART XIII— Page 194— Hurd's Resolu- 
tions in 1880, for the Restoration of the 
Free Trade Tariff of 1846. 

PART XIV— Page 196— Knit Goods- 
Duty on Woolen Goods. 

PART XV— Page 197— Tariff Commis- 
sion. 

PART XVI— Page 198— Mr. Mills' (of 
La.) Free Trade Amendment to Tar- 
iff Commission Bill— Attempts to tack 
free trade tariff of 1846 to bill. 

PART XVII— Page 198— Protection in- 
creases the sales and profits of agri- 
culture. 

PART XVIII— Page 200 — Protection 
Greatly Increases the Wages o± -La- 
bor. 

PART XIX— Page 204— Grand Results 
of Protection in Increased National 
Power and Wealth. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Wlio Pays the National Taxes. 

PART I— Page 205— Sources of Public 
Revenue— Ciistoms,Internal Revenue, 
and Public Lands— The Masses Pay 
No Taxes— Only Those who Indulge 
in Foreign Broadcloths, Brussel and 
Turkey Carpets, Diamonds, &c, in 
Whiskey, Wines, and Tobacco— Real 
Estate and Necessaries of Life Un- 
taxed by National Laws. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



The Homestead Question. 

PART I — Page 207 — Republican At- 
tempts prior to I860 to Give Home- 
steads to Actual Settlers— Persistent 
Democratic Opposition — Homestead 
Bills Denounced as Pernicious by the 
Slave Oligarchy. 



PART II— Page 208— The Republicans 
Seceed— And the Slave Oligarchy Se- 
cede — Industrious Freemen Triumph 
in Republican Success — Land for the 
Landless and Homes for All. 



CHAPTER XV . 



The National Banks. 

PART I— Page 209— Bill to extend their 
Charters twenty years. 

PART II— Page 212— Statistics Rela- 
ting to the Banks. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Reduction of Internal Revenue Tax- 
ation and of Customs l>nties. 

PART I— Page 215— Bill in the House 
of Representatives. 

PART II— Page 215— The Bill in the 
Senate. 

PART III— Page 216— The Carlisle Bill 

of 1881. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



The Public Lands. 

PART I— Page 217— Policy of Granting 
Public Lands for Internal Improve- 
ment Purposes. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Financial Record of the Republican 
Party. 

PART I— Page 218— Republican Party 
in 1860, found a Bankrupt Treasury 
with Bonds bearing 12 per cent, inter- 
est — Democratic Mai-Administration 
bad brought Financial Ruin upon the 
Country — And ended in attempting to 
to destroy the Government. 

PART II— Page 222— Analysis of the 
principal of the Public Debt of the 
United States from July 1, 1856, to 
July 1, 1882. 

PART III— Page 223— Analysis of Fore- 
going Table — Resumption. 

PART IV— Page 225— August State- 
ment of the Public Debt. 

PART V— Page 226— The Currency. 



CONTENTS. 



PAET VI— Page 230— Aggregate and 
Annual Eeduction of Expenses. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Republican Economy. 

PARTI— Page 231— Republican Econ- 
omy shown by a comparison of the 
last three years of Republican Appro- 
priations with the last three years of 
Democratic Appropriations. 

PART II— Page 233— Statement of the 
Appropriations Made by Congress for 



the Fiscal Years 1882 and 1883, by 
Appropriation Acts. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Political Platforms. 

PART I— Page 235— Republican 1880. 
PART II— Page 237— Democratic 1880. 
PART III— Page 237— Greenback 1880. 
Page 239— Statistical Tables. 



CHAPTER I. 
The Spirit of the "Solid South." 



PART I. 

Wade Hampton's Speech at 
Staunton, Virginia. 

Following is the speech of Senator 
Wade Hampton at Staunton, Virginia, 
July 26, 1880, as reported by the Staun- 
ton Valley Virginian : 

"The largest political meeting ever held in 
Staunton -was that on Monday last. The Opera 
House was crowded with an audience variously 
estimated at from fifteen hundred to two thou- 
sand people. Some three or four hundred were 
ladies, and about an equal number boys, while 
the men comprised voters of every political 
creed and color. Captain John H. Crawford 
was called to the chair, and Major Elder offered 
the resolutions, which were unanimously adop- 
ted. Captain Baumgardner, in his usually 
happy manner, then introduced Senator Wade 
Hampton of South Carolina. General Hamp- 
ton is a man of fine physique and splendid ap- 
pearance, and as he stepped forward to the 
stage round after round of applause greeted 
him." 

The indissoluble bonds of the Confeder- 
acy—The " glorious heritage of hate 
and Inst of power "— " Turn back the 
hands." 

" After alluding to the fact that his ancestry 
were "Virginians, and had fought side by side 
with the 6ons of the old State, and to his own 
services during the late war , he said : ' So it is 
that I am bound to you by bonds which death 
alone can sever. So it is that I, like so many of 
the veterans of the Confederacy, am jealous of the 
honor and proud of the glorious heritage be- 
queathed to her by herLee and her Stonewall Jack- 
son. Do not understand that I come here to 
dictate a policy to you, or to advise you what 
you must do ; rather am I here to consult with 
you as a Democrat, as a man, and as a South- 
ern soldier; as one who looks back to the time 
when he shared with you privations and suffer- 
ing and defeat in the Army of Kortliern Vir- 
ginia.'" 

He adjures Virginia by her Confeder- 
ate traditions to stand with the 
"Solid South!" 

" I am here to voice the earnest hope that I 
feel, to utter the fervent prayer of my heart, 
that Virginia, theMotlier of States, will not prove 
recreant to all her high traditions. We have al- 
ways looked to her to lead, and we know that 
6he has the right to do so. We know her his- 
tory, and we know that in seeking the path of 
duty she has ever found the way to glory. I 
adjure you by your traditions, by all that you 
hold sacred, to lead again Virginia as you 
have done heretofore, not always to victory, but 
always to honor." 



With 138 votes from the " Solid SouQi,** 
only Jfew York and Indiana needed- 
Will Virginia " Sacrifice the South Y" 
—Secession again threatened. 

" What is Virginia's duty now ! You bardly 
realize, my friends, how much depends on ti&e 
action of your State. With a united Soutfi cash- 
ing 138 electoral votes, we need only New Y&rlz 
and Indiana, and I believe we shall have Afces*. 
Will Virginia, when we have success within over 
very grasp, sacrifice, tlie Democratic party t WiM 
she sacrifice the South ? Will she sacrifice the 
National Government by aiding, indirectly 
though it be. to elect a Republican Pa^esideat $ 
I will not believe it." 

By the " exalted teachings," the ** enno- 
bling inspirations" of our '« glorious" 
four years of rebellion, be not *' recre- 
ant " now !— The " one great object "•*" 
the South, Hancock's election, "Fight 
for it, and Win." 

" I stood for four years by the side of Virgin 
ians, and I know the stuff of which theg ere. 
made. In those four years I never saw tlvem fill 
ter. At this crisis I cannot, I will not, think tks& 
you will prove false to your traditions — thai &&& 
can prove recreant to the exalted teachings, iim 
ennobling inspirations of your glorious pari 
Put by everything that can distract your at- 
tention from our one great object. Dm& 
only to that, fight for it, and win the fight." 

He attacks the Republican party— Be* 
wails a loss of State rights and * tiys 
fate of the South "—This election the 
" L,ast Ditch " of Confederate Dene* 
cratic rule. 

" I have nothing to say to you about j-mr 
local differences; we have them in our ©we 
State, but we have resolutely put them behiad 
us. Realize, if you can.what will follow a Repiafe- 
lican triumph in November. You have all seea. 
what strides that party has made toward ©eaa- 
tralization ; you have seen your judge Strieker 
down by the mailed hands of the National Gov- 
ernment; you have seen the Republican party 
mass troops at the polls to overawe your foes 
suffrage ; you have seen their Deputy Marslials 
their Supervisors, their Returning Boards— Ihe 
instruments of an overthrow of the last vestige of 
State rights. I tell you, my countrymen, the fait 
of the South willbe harder than ever if the Repub- 
lican party is successful in this campaign. We 
shall behold no more free elections, no u>ore 
untrammeled expressions of political senti- 
ment, and no one of us now living wilt eter 
again see a restoration of Democratic rul&att& 
principles." 

Elect Hancock and the Republican ^otc 
Korth (as in the bull-dozed Soufii 
shall disappear — " Peace and Unics*"** 
when the Sonth can dictate. 

li If we elect the Democratic nominees theJEa- 
publican party will go to pieces like a rope «f 



2 



SPIRIT OF THE SOLID SOUTH. 



sand. Their mission is ended if they ever had 
a mission. There is nothing that holds them to- 
gether today save 'the cohesive power of 
public plunder.' The Democratic party is the 
party of peace and of union that ivould blot out 
all sectional differences forever, and it has 
proved this in the nomination of General Han- 
cook at Cincinnati. There was but one feeling 
there among tlie Southern delegates. That feeling 
was expressed when we said to our Northern 
Democratic brethren, ' Give us an available man.' 
They gave us that man, and we have put it in 
the power of the people to elect the ticket. 
They can elect it if they will." 

The " Solid. South " again—" Consider 
what !Lee and Jackson would do " — 
"These are the same ' principles for 
which they fought " — Do not abandon 
them now ! 

"You will hear from one to-day who can 
speak for North Carolina. Governor Vance will 
confirm my words that we can carry the South 
if you will only carry Virginia. He has come, 
like me, to appeal to you not to forsake us in 
the hour of need. Consider what Lee and 
Jackson would do were they alive. These 
are the same principles for which they 
fought for four years. remember the men 
who poured forth their life-blood on vir- 
ginia's soil,. and do not abandon them now. 
Remember that upon your vote depends 

THE SUCCESS OF THE DEMOCRATIC TICKET." 

The denial that he made that speech— 
The convincing proofs of the fact. 

The above speech created such a deep 
feeling in the Northern mind that the 
Southern as well as Northern leaders of 
the Democracy feared it would solidify 
the North for General Garfield. To 
"break its force they made haste to deny 
that Wade Hampton had used the lan- 
guage thus attributed to him, and Wade 
Hampton wrote a letter in which he ad- 
mits that he " appealed to the Virgin- 
ians present to consider before they 
voted how Lee and Jackson would vote 
were they now alive," but says : 

"I have not the slightest recollection of hav- 
ing used the language attributed to me in the 
©losing sentences of your report, and I cer- 
tainly never intended to convey the idea em- 
bodied in them. Your reporter misconceived 
my language." 

But the evidence is overwhelming 
that he did use it, whatever his " recol- 
lection " or "intention" may have been. 
The New York Tribune at once investi- 
gated the matter fully, and published 
more than two columns of proofs. Of 
these it is enough to say that four of 
the best known leading Democrats of 
Staunton joined in the following card : 

" We, the undersigned, heard" the speech of 
General Wade Hampton, delivered in Staunton, 
on the 26th of July. We have also read the re- 
port thereof published in The Valley Virginian 
o[n the. 29th of July, and hereby certify that that 
report was substantial ! y correct. 

Archibald G. Stuart, 
H. C. Tinsley, 
A. C. Gordon, 
Hugh F. Lyle." 

And that the report of the passage in 
question in the Democratic paper of 



Staunton, made by Mr. H. C. Tinsley 
himself, is essentially the same as that 
given by the Bepublican paper, as will 
be seen by the following : 



From The Valley Virgin- 
ian. (Rep.) 
"Consider what Lee 
and Jackson would do 
were they alive. These 
are the same principles 
fm' which they fought 

{or four years. Remera- 
er the men who poured 
forth their life blood on 
Virginia's soil, and do 
not abandon them now. 
Remember that upon 
your vote depends the 
success of the Demo- 
cratic ticket." 



From The Vindicator, 
(Dem.) 
" Pause before you 
cast your vote. Think 
how Lee would have 
voted. Think what 
Jackson would have 
done before he would 
have cast a vote calcu- 
lated to divide his be- 
loved Virginia. I ask 
you to remember those 
who have died on your 
soil, and to remember 
that the princiirtes they 
died for are again on 
trial to day I say noth- 
ing of your differences.'' 

The Staunton Valley Virginian also 
repeats, in the most positive manner, 
that — 

" General Hampton declared that the Dem- 
ocratic party, under Hancock's lead, was 
fighting for the same principles that Lee and 
Jackson J might for, and for which the Sputhem 
soldiers died. There was no qualification 
in the terms used. His appeal teas for har- 
mony in the Democratic jmrty in Virginia, and 
to make it effective he brought up the war remem- 
brance to touch the feelings of the audience." 



PART II. 

Confederate Urigadiers in 
the Senate — They Enlogize 
JetT. ©avis, and wonld Pen- 
sion hini and the Confeder- 
ate Soldiers — I>ens©cratie 
Votes — Kach. Chandler de- 
nounces them. 

On March 3, 1879, the Pension Arrears 
Bill was before the U. S. Senate. To 
that an amendment was offered extend- 
ing the arrears to Mexican war veterans 
when Mr. Hoar, of Massachusetts, moved 
the following as an amendment to the 
amendment: 

Provided furtlier, That ne pension shall ever 
be paid under this act to Jefferson Davis, the 
late president of the so-called Confederacy. 

Instantly the ex -Confederate chief- 
tains in the Senate were upon their feet 
in vindication and eulogy of the arch 
rebel. To them, as indeed to the North- 
ern Democratic leaders, Jeff. Davis is 
the representative, the embodiment of 
the "lost cause," and nothing so ex- 
presses their devotion and love for him 
as the utterances of this debate. 

Senator Garland, of Arkansas, roundly 
declared that Jefferson Davis 

Would scorn it (the pension) if tendered grudg 
ingly. * * * His services are upon the 



SPIRIT OF THE SOLID SOUTH. 



Tecord of this country, and while they may not 
surpass, yet they will equal in history all Gre- 
cian fame and all Roman glory. 

Senator Tlmrman, of Ohio, a North - 
■era Democrat, could see no difference 
between repentant rebels now honored 
with office in the Eepublican party and 
the unrepentant Jefferson Davis! and 
added : 

The American people want not only that 
there shall be amnesty * * * but that as soon 
as possible there may be oblivion. 

Senator Gordon, of Georgia, also could 
not see any difference except, because 

One is radical, and the other is not ; that is 
all. 

Senator Lamar, of Mississippi, ex- 
pressed "surprise and regret that the 
Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Hoar) 
should have wantonly, without provoca- 
tion, flung this insult!" Said lie, con- 
tinuing : 

* * * There was no distinction between in 
suit to him and the Southern people, exce t 
that he was their chosen leader and they his en- 
thusiastic followers ; and there has been no dif- 
ference since. The Senator, it pains me to say, 
•coupled that honored name with treason ; for, 
sir, he is honored among the Southern people. 11 e 
<did only what they soughtto do; he was simply 
chosen to lead them in a cause which we all cher- 
ished, and his name will continue to he honored 
for his participation in that great movement 
which inspired an entire people, the people who 
were animated by motives as sacred and noble as 
■ever inspired the breast of a Hampden or a WasJv- 
tngton. I say this as a Union man to-day. The 
people of the South drank their inspiration from 
the fountain of devotion to liberty and to con- 
stitutional government. We believed that we 
were fighting for it, and the Senator cannot put 
Ms finger upon one distinction between the peo- 
ple of the South and the man whom the Senator 
has to-day selected for dishonor as the rep re 
tentative of the South. 

Senator Gordon again arose to declare 
that- 
Whatever poison is carried in the breast of 
Mr. Davis by this Parthian arrow, ^ent back 
f ! om recently defeated Republican ranks, must 
of necessity find lodgment in the breast of every 
man of the South whose sensibilities are capable 
of a wound. 

Senator Morgan, of Alabama, eulo- 
gized him as " a man of high character, 
of great courage, of established abili- 
ties, a man whom we could trust." 

Senator Coke, of Texas, said : 

I tell you, candidly and sincerely, that we 
love Jefferson Davis because he represented ue 
in a struggle in which our youn.ir men and our 
old men went down to their graves, and by 
which our women were made widows and our 
children were made orphans. He represents us, 
and we love him ; we respect and revere him. 

Senator Eansom, of North Carolina, 
replying to a question, said: 

I tell him (Mr. Hoar) that if I were in his 
place as I am now in my place— and I speak de- 
liberately—and I believed Mr. Davis was an 
enemy to this -country, I not only would not pen- 



sion him, but I would have for him feelings o" 
unutterable aversion. But it is impossible that 
Mr. Davis can be an enemy to this country. * * 
He never was an enemy of this country. * * He 
belongs to history as does that cause to which be 
gave all the ability and devotion of his great 
nature. There I trust both. x * * * I hope we 
all will vote upon this amendment, and vote our 
sentiments. 

Most of those Democratic senators who 
were not paired did vote for these Con- 
federate "sentiments. 11 No Democrat 
voted against those " sentiments." The 
Democrats who voted "nay" in the 
adoption of Mr. Hoar's amendment were : 

Messrs. Bailey, Barnum, Bed:, Butler, Cock- 
rell, Coke, Davis of W. Va., Eaton, Garland, Gor- 
don, Grover, Harris, Hereford, Jones of Fla., 
Lamar, McCreery, McPherson, Maxey, Morgan, 
Ransom, Tlmrman. 

In spite of their vote, Mr. Hoar's 
amendment was adopted, and the pend- 
ing amendment as thus amended was 
lost — the Democrats having previously 
voted down a proviso offered by Mr. 
Mitchell, to the following effect : 

Provided further, That no person who served 
in the Confederate army during the late war of 
the rebellion, or held any office, civil or mili- 
tary, in the late Confederacy, shall be entitled 
to receive any pension under this act. 

A sharp contrast— How Jefferson Davis 
is regarded by the H orth — Senator 
Chandler's scathing, reply to these 
Southern eulogies. 

It was after listening to these eulogies 
of Jefferson Davis till forbearance ceased 
to be a virtue, that the lamented Zach- 
ariah Chandler rose, pale with long- 
suppressed wrath, and, with impressive 
vehemence, uttered the voice of the 
North as follows : 

Mr. President, twenty-two years ago to-mor- 
row, in the old ball of the Senate, now occupied 
by the Supreme Court of the United States, in 
company with Mr. Jefferson Davis I stood up 
and swore before Almighty God that I would 
support the Constitution of the United States. 
Mr. Jefferson Davis came from the Cabinet of 
Franklin Pierce into the Senate of the United 
States and took the oath with me to be faithful 
to this Government During four years I sat in 
this body with Mr. Jefferson Davis and saw the 
preparations going on from day to day for the 
overthrow of this "Government. With treason 
in his heart and perjury upon his lips he took 
the oath to sustain tbe Government that he 
meant to overthrow. 

Sir, there was method in that madness. He, 
in co-operation with other men from his sec- 
tion and in the Cabinet of Mr. Buchanan, made 
careful preparations for the event tbat was 
to follow. Your armies were scattered all 
over this broad land wbere they could not be 
used in an emergency ; your fleets wi>re scat- 
tered wherever the winds blew and water was 
found to float them, where tbey could not be 
used to put down rebellion; your treasury was 
depleted until your bonds bearing six per cent., 
principal and interest payable in coin, were 
sold for eighty-eight cents on the dollar for cur- 
rent expenses and no buyers. Preparations 
were carefully made. Your arms were sold 
under an apparently innocent clause in an Army 
bill providing that the Secretarj r of War might, 
at his discretion, sell such arms as he deemed 
it for the interest of the Government to sell. 



SPIRIT OF THE SOLID SOUTH. 



Sir, eighteen years ago last month, I sat in 
these halls and listened to Jefferson Davis de- 
livering his farewell address, informing us what 
our constitutional duties to this Government 
were, and then he left and entered into the re- 
hellion to overthrow the Government that he 
had sworn to support ! I remained here sir, dur- 
ingthe whole of that terrible rebellion. I saw our 
brave soldiers by thousands and hundreds of 
thousands, aye, I might say millions, pass 
through the theater of war, and I saw their 
shattered ranks return ; I saw steamboat after 
steamboat and railroad train after railroad 
train arrive with the maimed and the wounded ; 
I was with my friend from Rhode Island [Mr. 
BurnsideJ when he commanded the army o f 
the Potomac, and saw piles of legs and arms 
that made humanity shudder ; I saw the widow 
and. the orphan in their homes, and heard 
the weeping and wailing of those who had lost 
their dearest and their best. Mr. President, 
I little thought at that time I should live to 
hear in the Senate of the United States eulo- 
gies upon Jefferson Davis, living— a living rebel 
eulogized on the floor of the Senate of the United 
States ! Sir, I am amazed to hear it ; and I can 
tell the gentlemen on the other side that they 
little know the spirit of the North when they 
come here at this day and With bravado on their 
lips utter eulogies upon a man whom every 
man, woman, and child in the North believes to 
have been a double-dyed traitor to his Govern- 
ment. [Applause in the galleries.] 



PART III. 
Testimony of the Represen- 
tative Press of the South as 
to the Demon-like Rule of 
the Bourbons. 

The Negro " passing out " of Politics— 
He must side with the Democrats or 
" go to the wall altogether ! " 

Says the New Orleans Picayune (Demo- 
cratic) : 

The negro is passing out of politics. He can 
never figure again in that arena as a Republican, 
for the simple reason that the Republican party 
has no longer any use for him— or, rather any 
opportunity to use him, The Southern States are 
alt hopelessly Democratic, and it would be a 
waste of money sorely needed in more promis- 
ing quarters to canvass this section in the in- 
terest of the Chicago nominees. We understand 
that it is not the intention of the Republican 
managers to attempt to organize a campaign in 
this State, and they have equally good reasons to 
abandon the struggle in all the other Southern 
States. If the negro is wise he must begin to see 
that he has now as little to hope from the Re- 
publican party as that party has to expect from 
him. He will see that in his own section he 
must side with the dominant party or, politically 
speaking, go to the wall altogether. 

White Republicans to be branded as 
enemies- White Republican candidates 
" should be saturated] with stench ! "— 
1,000 Democratic votes equal to 5,000 
Republican votes!— "We have the 
count ! " 

A letter signed " Southern Democrat," 
in the Memphis Avalanche, says : 

White men who dare to avow themselves here 
as Republicans should be promptly branded as 
the bitter and malignant enemies of the South. 
The name of every Northern man who presumes 



in this community to aspire to office through 
Republican votes should be saturated with 
stench. As for the negroes, let them amuse 
themselves, if they will, by voting the Radical 
ticket. We have the count. We have a thousand 
good and true men whose brave ballots will be- 
fou nd eqiH'.lto those of five thousand vile Radi- 
als. 

The Democrats control South Carolina,, 
and they intend to retain it at every 
hazard ! 

Says the Barnwell (S. C.) People: 

The Democrats have obtained control of the 
State of South Carolina, and they intend to re- 
tain it at every hazard, and in spite of the ut- 
most efforts of local enemi es and their Northern 
allies. 

Artillery and Red Shirts the proper 
source of enthusiasm for Southern 
elections. 

The Lexington Advertiser said : 

Rub your red shirts, patch up your artillery, 
and get a full supply of "enthusiasm " for the 
campaign this fall. There will be no Federal 
count at the end of this election. 

The Democratic party not a political 
organization but a Vigilance Commit- 
tee. 

Hear the Greenville Times. It said 
in November: 

Stripped to the truth, the Democratic party 
is not a political organization ; it is a vigilance 
committee. 

A warning of blood-shed— The negro's 
only hope of avoiding it is by a sur- 
render of his political rights— In all 
such conflicts the negro always the 
victim. 

The Jackson (Miss.) Comet, on Octo- 
ber 25, said : 

If there is bloodshed on the 8th of next No- 
vember, let no colored man say he was not 
warned in time. If you are satisfied with the 
government stay at home, for if a conflict should 
occur you know who will be the victims. 

Killing no murder, violation of law no 
crime, if perpetrated in support of the 
Solid South— Murder and Lawlessness 
justified by the law of self-preserva- 
tion. 

Witness the following utterance in 
the Charleston News and Courier, one 
of the most respectable of all the Bour- 
bon organs. It says : 

Killing is not always murder, and violations 
of law are not always a crime. There is an ear- 
lier law than the statutes— the law of self-pres- 
ervation. That law was the guide and master 
in South Carolina in 187(3, and it will be ap- 
pealed to whenever there is any danger of a re- 
turn to the vileness of negro rule. 

Rally on the Color JLine, boys— Negro 
pretenders must be put down— Step 
across the platform, boys, and go for 
them. 

From the Meridan (Miss.) Mercury: 

Rally on the color line, boys, beyond the plat- 
form, every man to his color or colors, and 
make these negro pretenders to govern this 



SPIRIT OF THE SOLID SOUTH. 






,_eat county come down, else put 'em down. 

Vhat do the' young men say to the old man's 
battle cry in this political campaign: "Step 
across the platform, boys, and go for 'em." 

Down with the negro — Vote him down 
or knock him down— A white man's 
party to rule a white man's country. 

From the Westville (Miss.) News : 

Does not the very thought boil the blood in 
■every vein? Will you still contend that we 
must not have a white man's party? Away 
with such false doctrines; we must and will 
"hare a white man's party. We have tried pol- 
Icv loug enough. We must organize on the 
color line, disregarding minor considerations. 
The white man's party is the only salvation for 
the State. Show the negro his place and make 
Tiim keep it. If we caunot vote him down, we 
can knock him down, and the result will be the 
same. Either the white man or negro will rule 
this country ; they cannot both do it, and it is j 
for the white man to say who the ruler shall be. | 
Le us have a white man's party to rule a Avhite 
man's country, and do it like white men. 

No appeal from the murderous bull- 
dozer—Bull Run or Chichamauga— The 
white people must be welded into one 
compact organization— All personal 
differences must be settled within the 
organization. 

From the Columbus (Miss.) Index: 

The necessities of the State of Mississippi re- 
call tnis injunction and give emphasis to the 
parallel— put none but Democrats in office. 

We have gained a great victory— Bull Run or 
Chickamauga. Let us follow it up to the secur- 
ing of results. , , , . __ 

The white people must be welded into one 
•compact organization. All differences of opin- 
ion, all personal aspirations must be settled 
within our own organization, and from its de- 
cision there must be no appeal. Otherwise 
•each recurring election produces its disorders. 

Negroes as unreasonable as crocodiles 
or Kentucky mules— The bloody and 
violent Mississippi plan the only rea- 
soner for the Blacks. 

From the Newton (Miss.) Democrat: 

Mr. Potter and ex-Governor Brown, of Hinds, 
think tke negro can be reasoned into Democ- 
racy, and they have been thinking so ever 
■since the war ; but for our part we would as 
soon reason with a shoal of crocodiles or a drove 
of Kentucky mides. And so might they, for all 
the convictions they have produced in the 
counties of Hinds and Copiah. 

TVhite Mississippians only shall rule 
Mississippi — Woe, irretrievable woe, 
betide Radical tatterdemalions— Hit 
them, hip and thigh, everywhere and 
at all times. 

From the Yazoo (Miss.) Democrat : 

Let unanimity of sentiment pervade the 
minds of men. Let invincible determination be 
depicted on every countenance. Send forth 
from our deliberate assembly of the eighteenth 
the soul-stirring announcement that Mississip- 
pians shall rule Mississippi though the heavens 
fall. Then will woe, irretrievable woe, be- 
tde the radical tatterdemalions. Hit them hip 
and thigh, everywhere and at all times. 



Carry the election peacably if we can, forci- 
bly if we must. 



PART IV. 

Further testimony as to the 
lawless and corrupt rule 
of the IBourbons. 

Bourbonism and Conservatism— Defini- 
tion of both by a Conservative Missis- 
sippi editor— Bourbonism an extreme 
faction of Democratic Party ruling 
through lawlessness — through vio- 
lence, fraud, and crime. 

The following are extracts from the 
testimony of Mr. Charles E. Wright, the 
editor of the Vicksburg (Miss.) Herald, 
before the House of Representatives in 
the case by Lynch vs. Chalmers. He 
says: 

It (the Vicksburg Herald) has differed with 
some of the extreme papers in this State. I have 
sustained the Democratic administration of 
Mis issippi, the Democratic judges, and every 
thing eke. It is not true that when I returned 
from Washington, a year ago last spring, the 
tone of the paper became changed and differed 
with the Democratic administration of the 
State. It never has. I differed with the lead- 
ers of th<- party concerning the issue they made 
in Congress about that time, and said so edito- 
rially half a dozen times. It is not true I have 
since then denounced the leaders of the Demo- 
cratic party as " machine politicians," or some- 
thing of that kind. It is not true that I de- 
nounced the leaders of the Democratic party as 
" Bourbons." I regard Mr. Lamar as the 
leader of the Democratic party in Mississippi, 
and I know he does not approve those things I 
issued with. I never made an issue with the 
leaders of the party. I refer to fraud and vio- 
lence as things Mr. Lamar does not approve 
of. I have not taken any new departure. I 
have opposed them ever educe I have been edi- 
tor of a paper. I was the editor of a paper pub- 
lished in Vicksburg in 1873 or 1874 called TJie 
Yicksburger, and of the paper called The Mon- 
itor, in the following year. 

Q. What fraud or violence have you known 
committed for running for office since March, 
1879? 

A. The most prominent affair was in Yazoo, 
in 1879. 

Q. What fraud or violence did you know as 
being committed in Yazoo in 1879 ? 

A. I do not live in Yazoo County, and know 
nothing of my own personal knowledge. I only 
know just like I get other information for the 
Herald. 

Newspaper men know how to get in- 
formation generally for the papers. 

- Q. Do you know of your own knowledge of 
any fraud or violence committed against any- 
body running for office ? 

A. I answer as before, I do not know of my 
own knowledge. 

Again he says : 

Q. Please to define what you understand by 
Bourbonism and Conservatism? 

(Objected to by counsel for General Chalmers 
as irrelevant and not ie-examination.) 

A. The difference, as I understand it, is this: 
the Bourbons in this State are an extreme fac- 
tion of the Democratic party ; they are willing 
to go outside of law and the Democratic plat- 



SPIRIT OF THE SOLID SOUTH. 



form, and anything else, and resort to violence 
and fraud for the sake of party success. I think 
the conservative Democrats are opposed to 
that, and want to let the elections go as the 
ballots are cast. That is my view of the differ- 
ence. I regard Senator Lamar as the leader 
of the Democratic party in this State and Gen- 
eral Chalmers as identified with the extreme 
men. 

Deatb to all Damned Rascals— Intimi- 
dation and Fraud the rule at all Elec- 
tions— Kn-klnx practices and wide- 
spread conspiracy to dominate 
through Lawlessness and Crime — Af- 
fidavit of J. B. Chapline in case of 
Eynch vs. Chalmers. 

Circuit court, Monroe County, Ark.— J. B. Chap- 
line, plff., vs. T. W. Hooper, deft. In matter of 
contest of election hold in said county for 
the county and probate judge. Amended com- 
plaint. 
The plaintiff, by way of amendment to the 

original complaint filed herein, by leave of the 

court first had and obtained, states : 

I. That defendant, T. W. Hooper, since the 
filing of the original complaint has received his 
commission from the gov. of the State as pro- 
bate and county judge of Monroe County, Ark- 
ansas, and has qualified as such judge and has 
been regularly inducted into said office. 

II. Complainant further states that since the 
filing of the original complaint herein many 
evil-disposed persons, favoring the course of 
defendant, have resorted to unlawful and crim- 
inal measures for the purpose of intimidating 
complainant and forcing him to withdraw from 
this contest and the lawful assertion of his 
rights. That on the night of the 18th day of 
Septembi r, 1880, a coffin was placed by these evil- 
disposed persons in complainant's yard and 
marked thus: "J. B. Chapline, take timely 
warning. Thus to all damned rascals." That 
on the night of the 19th of September, 1880, an 
armed mob of twelve men, with blackened faces 
or black masks over their faces, surrounded the 
house of Win. H. Tugwell, one of the judges of 
the election in Jackson township, Monroe 
County, Ark., who was then the lawful custo- 
dian of the duplicate tally-sheet and poll-book 
for that township, and by unlawful force and 
menace compelled the said Win. H. Tugwell to 
surrender and give up to them the said tally- 
sheet and poll-book ; that these unlawful acts 
have created much fear and alarm in the county 
of Monroe, and clearly indicate a secret, wide- 
spread conspiracy to deprive complainant of 
his lawful rights in defiance of law. 

III. Premises considered, complainant prays 
that defendant's pretended election to the office 
of county and probate judge of Monroe County, 
Arkansas, be declared illegal, null and void; 
that his commission as such judge be declared 
null and void; and that it be canceled by 
decree of this honorable court and for nought 
held; that complainant be declared the duly 
elected judge of the county and probate courts 
of Monroe County, Arkansas, and that a copy of 
the record in this case be certified to the gov. 
of the State, to the end that he may commission 
complainant as such judge, and for all such fur- 
ther relief as the nature of the case may require. 

JOHN HALLUM and 
G. W. L. KANAWAH, 

Att'ysfor Pltff. 
State of Arkansas, 

Monroe County : 
J. B. Chapline states on oath that the matters 
and facts stated in the foregoing amended com- 
plaint are true, to the best of his knowledge and 
belief. J. B. CHAPLINE. 

Subscribed and sworn to before me on this 
26th day of September, 1880. 

HENRY BATEMAN, J. P. 



A Greenback stump-speaker astounded! 
in Alabama— "The Confederacy still 
exists— A Solid South will gain control 
and redress all our wrongs." 

J. H. Randall, a Greenback orator in 
the recent Alabama campaign, writes to 
the Washington National View August 
14, 1880, touching the "spirit of the 
South," as exhibited in that State. He 
attended a Democratic meeting at Kizer 
Hill, and says : 

The first one of the speakers, from our stand- 
point, indicated that he was very ignorant and 
a fool, or that he thought the people present 
were all igno' ant and fools. * * * To us it 
was very strange that the people listened to him, 
but they did and many of them, in comments we 
overheard, seemed to think him telling t/ie truth, 
and that he was very wise. In the course of his 
speech he said: '■'The Confederacy still exists, my 
friends, and Jeff. Davis, the best friend we ever 
had, is yet our President and devoted to our in- 
terests ; and if Hancoch is elected (and we liave 
no doubt lie will be) you will be paid for all the 
property you have lost through Radical rule ; and 
you must stand by the great Democratic party, 
for a solid South will now give us entire control 
of the General Government, and we can redress 
all our wrongs." 

Randall thinking this pretty extra- 
ordinary doctrine, attempted to reply, 
when a man in the crowd yelled out : 
" We donH want no d — n ya?ilcee to come 
here and talk to us ; we had better shut 
him up." Then a brass band from Shu- 
buta, Mississippi, struck up to prevent 
his being heard ! 

Native Mississippians, business men, 
privately denounce and lament the 
"Violent, Prescriptive, and Intolerant 
Spirit of the Bourbon " Rule or Ruin " 
Party— Its practices beyond the pale of 
all Christian and honorable prece- 
dent. 

Hon. Wm. R. Moore, of Tennessee, in 
a speech in the House of Representees 
said : 

It is within the bounds of my own personal 
knowledge that there are business men in Mis- 
sissippi, native and to the manor born, who 
vote regularly with the Bourbon party while 
secretly despising it, and who are led to do so 
only because the proscriptive and intolerant 
spirit of that "rule or ruin" party will not 
recognize the right of opposition, and because 
also that party teaches its adherents to obstruct 
in every possible way business transactions 
with a Republican. One of the oldest and most 
respectable of that class, socially and finan- 
cially, has only very recently whispered in my 
own ear, as if afraid it might be heard outside, 
that the political practices of that bull -dozing 
party in Mississippi were simply beyond the 
pale of all Christian and honorable precedent ; 
and it can be easily and philosophically ac- 
counted for. 

«* Small-pox" should be written over 
the doors of all Republican Merchants 
or Business Men— Jtfo Toleration of the 
" Damn Radicals." 

Mr. Moore also said : 

It is a matter of public record that the editor- 
in-chief of a leading Bourbon newspaper in the 



SPIRIT OF THE SOLID SOUTH. 



great south-western Mississippi Valley, an or- 
gan of that party in Mississippi, has editorially 
urged that "' small-pox' should be written over 
the doors " of Inisiness men and merchants, and 
has actually succeeded, by this diabolical policy, 
in literally breaking up and driving out of the 
reach of his pernicious influence reputable and 
respectable gentlemen for no other reason than 
that they icere earnest and conscientious Republi 
cans, and yet in the same paper this editor has 
emptied gallons of ink in turgid appeals for new 
immigrants to come into his section only to re- 
ceive upon their arrival the same treatment incase 
they happened to bring with them their opinions 
and their manhood. If, therefore, the oldest and 
most conspicuous editor of this proscriptive 
party in that section has found profit in publish- 
ing such views, is it any wonder if the smaller 
provincial papers, taking their cue from this 
demoniac leader, shall fulminate from day to 
day their seditious imitations % 



PART V. 
Convicted Bourbon ballot- 
box straffers in Mississippi 
lionized by the Bourbon 
w Beauty and Chivalry " — 
Fines inflicted by Fed- 
eral courts reimbursed the 
criminals by money raised 
through public entertain- 
ments — Proceedings of a 
public meeting at West 
Point, Mississippi. 

The Clay County (Miss.) Leader of 
July 27 contains a report of a public 
meeting held at the court-liouse in West 
Point, in that county, on the 24th of the 
same month, " for the purpose of rais- 
ing money to relieve certain young men 
of the county, upon whom fines were 
unjustly imposed by the Federal court 
at Oxford, upon the illegal verdict of a 
partisan jury." The meeting was called 
to order by Captain B. L. Cromwell, Dr. 
To wd send was elected chairman, and 
L. T. Carlisle secretary. The report 
says: 

Captain W. H. Robertson moved that at some 
future time we should hare a glass-hall shoot- 
ing, proceeds to be devoted to the above-named 
purpose. A 

Mr. J. H. Brinker stated that the ladies pro- 
posed at some future time to give a concert for 
the same purpose for "which this meeting was 
called, and moved that a committee of five be 
appointed as an executive committee to make 
all arrangements, and as early as possible to 
confer with the ladies, so as to have the shoot- 
ing and concert to come off on the same date. 
Carried. 

Messrs. J. H. Brinker, B. L. Cromwell, J. J. 
Williams, J. A. Taliaferro, and Wiley Bell were 
appointed by the chair. 

An executive commit eee-A grand snoot- 
ing match — A sub-comini#tee to confer 
with the ladies, «fcc. 

The same issue of the Leader has a 
report of a meeting of this executive 



committee, at which sub -committees 
were appointed as follows : 

Committee on printing, Mr. Wiley Bell, Ma- 
jor Herndon, aud L. T. Carlisle. 

Committee to select the grounds and make all 
necessary arrangements for the shooting match, 
Mr. J. A. Taliaferro, Captain W. II. Robertson, 
Messrs. A. P. Cottrell, J. H. McCord, Warren 
Ware, and T. C. Exum. 

To confer with the ladies about arranging for 
concert, &c, Mr. Jep Williams, Mr. A. B. Con- 
ned, and Captain Fred Bead. 

On motion the chairman was added to the 
committee. 

On rules and regulations for the shoot, Cap- 
tain B. L. Cromwell, Messrs. George Coleman, 
and J. D. Franks. 

To arms!— A call for troops— England 
calling- for troops to pnt down Arabi 
Bey's rebellion, but Mississippi West 
Pointers preparing- for the grandest 
glass ball shoot and concert— Proceeds 
to reimburse fines of Bourbon ballot- 
box stuffers— A grand gala day- Come 
everybody. 

We have also before us a one- sheet 
poster about eighteen by twenty-four 
inches, which announces in large type, 
under the head of " call for troops," 
that " while the English are calling for 
troops to put down the rebellion of Arabi 
Bey, the people of West Point are pre- 
paring for the grandest glass ball shoot 
and concert on August 3, 1882, ever got- 
ten up in North Mississippi. ^W* These 
festivities are for the purpose of paying 
the fines of three citizens of Clay County 
who were unjustly CONVICTED IN 
THE FEDEBAL COURT at Oxford 
of ELECTION FBAUDS.^ Come 
everybody! It will be a grand gala 
day for all those who may attend." We 
have also the small bill of particulars, 
in which this announcement is made : 

Proceeds to he appropriated toward reimburs- 
ing the young men unjustly fined by the Fed- 
eral court at Oxford. 

The Gala Bay and its Glass Ball Shoots- 
Brilliant with Bourbon Beauty and 
Chivalry— Man, thro' business cares 
and rivalries, may forget his duty to 
the KU'Elnx patriot, but in the hearts 
of Bourbon women is built the altar 
of patriotism upon which the fires of 
the ballot stufier will always bright- 
ly burn. 

A special correspondent of the Mem- 
phis Appeal, under date of August 5, 
writes from West Point the following 
account of the entertainment thus ad- 
vertised : 

Thursday last was in West Point devoted to 
patriotic service. Stores were closed and the 
good people of our town turned out to a glass- 
ball shoot during the day, And to a concert at 
White's Hall at night. The proceeds net were 
applied to the funds collecting for the pay- 
ment of fines recently imposed- on several 
citizens of our county by the Federal court at 
Oxford, as referred to in a recent communica- 
tion. 



$ 



SPIRIT OF THE SOLID SOUTH. 



!f&e- grass-ball sfiow was quite a success, and 
tii® tarfertainment at uight by the beauty and 
©Morally of West Point was a brilliant affair, 
$&©«swcess of which was mainly due to the ef- 
forts of our noble ladies, under the su- 
pervision • of Mrs. Fred Beall. Man, amid busi- 
ness* cares or reckless rivalries, may forget his 
■d&i&yr to his country ; but woman, surrounded 
fey tie sacred influences of home, and cherish 
m%r above every other consideration the future 
safety of her sous and daughters, is ever vigil- 
ant. Her heart is the altar of patriotism upon 
irMehthe fires are always brightly burning. 

Ctevfcted ballot-box stufiers assured 
afBuarteon sympathies — The Bourbon 
sftKffiS&ss eulogized as innocent victims 
«C Federal tyranny— Their names will 
he ever cherished in tbe hearts and 
■messjuMiries of tbe Bourbon. 

T&e^ convicted parties, who came from the 
■«ormtry to attend the entertainment, were re- 
a*f red and treated with every mark of atten- 
tm& and respect. At the close of the programme 
Captain Fred Beall, in a neat and appropriate 
address, assured these gentlemen that the peo- 
ple- of Clay County believed they were inno- 
e«!Xit of the charge brought against them (vio- 
Mttog election laws) ; that their sympathies 
were with them, and that the names of O'Con- 
ssar, Caradine, and Hallum would be cherished 
m the hearts and memories of our people. 

©fefeetf of Lionizing Criminals as Mar- 
tyrs— Ballot-box stuffing must be sus- 
tained— It is tbe only bope of a solid 
South- 

Says the National Bepublican of Wash- 
jsagtcm in commenting on the above : 

These men were convicted by a mixed jury in 
a United States court of the crime of ballot-box 
erasing at an election for Congressmen. There 
w«are five convicted, but on two of them a nom- 
inal fine of only $10 was imposed. The three 
©t&ears were fined $250 each. The object of treat- 
ing these convicted criminals as martyrs is ob- 
tIces®,. It is a necessity in view of the fall elec- 
tion. The stuffing of ballot boxes must be sus- 
tained! This can only be done by setting up 
&he resolves of a Bourbon meeting in opposition 
la the verdict of a jury made up of Democrats 
ais&Bepublicans. Then, under the assertion of 
"Believing the convicts innocent, the proceeds 
af public merry-making are devoted to paying 
*3h5 penalty inflicted by the outraged law. 
These facts are not only true, but are exultingly 
-gaaMIshed by the papers above named. 

y&ese ballot-box stufiers convicted at 

Senator Lamar's borne— Who are tbe 
Judges of crime in Mississippi— Tbe 
courts and juries or its respectabil- 
ity and intelligence wbo lionize 

criminals. 

The National Bepublican adds: 

Will some Bepublican member, of Congress 
satsk Mr. Muldrow, the Bourbon member from 
K&e district in which these crimes were com- 
aaitted, when Congress reassembles, whether 
ike approves the conduct of the constituents 
whose names we have given? Will some Re- 
publican Senator then ask Senator Lamar, at 
-whose home these ballot-box stuffers were con- 
TJeted, and who has been the law professor in 
*2se "University of Mississippi, located in that 
Tery city, whether the respectability and intel- 
ligence of Mississippi are those who judge of 
the guilt or innocence of accused persons by 
1%% result of judicial proceedings, in the formof 



the verdict of a jury, or those who encourage 
crime by lionizing criminals, and paying for 
them the fines which the court sentenced 
them to pay ? The answers to these questions 
will enable anti-Bourbon members to see more 
clearly how much weight to give to Bouibon 
testimony and arguments in contested election 



PART VI. 

Assassination of Col. Ii. W. R. Blair, a 
Greenbacker and United States Super- 
visor at Camden, South Carolina — A 
Cold-blooded Atrocity — A Brave Old 
Man Seventy Years Old Murdered by 
a Bourbon deader— Previously Mobbed 
in tbe presence of Hampton, Kennedy 
& Co. — Persecuted and Slandered — 
Higb Character of tbe Victim. 

The special correspondent of the Na- 
tional Bepublican at Columbia, South 
Carolina, under date of July 10, 1882, 
says; 

I invite your attention to a few points in the 
matter of the killing of Colonel L. W. R. Blair in 
Camden on July 4. He was entirely unarmed, 
having nothing but his usual walking-stick, and 
made no threat or attempt to use even that. He 
was a brave old man (he was 70 years old), who 
was never known to commence a quarrel or take 
advantage of an enemy. No instance can be 
given in which he ever, during his long life, as- 
saulted or shot any one in a personal quarrel. 
He did not threaten or attack the man who slew 
him. The casus belli was purely political. The 
Bourbons were his bitter foee. They had 
mobbed him in the presence of Hampton, Ken- 
nedy & Co. in 1880, when he was the Greenback 
candidate for governor. They had persistently 
persecuted and slandered him afterward. His 
private character being irreproachable, they 
could not assail it. 

His murderer, Haile, falsely accuses 
Blair of holding Meetings with Ne- 
groes at Night— Blair pronounced bim 
a liiar and refused to retract — The 
Bourbon coward shot the unarmed 
old man five times with a Winchester 
sixteen-shooter— The rifle convenient- 
ly concealed in Democratic Auditor's 
Office— Blair an anti-Bourbon Leader. 

The man who slaughtered him was chairman 
of a Democratic club, an ex-rebel, Captain 
Haile. Haile had said, and circulated it, that 
"Blair held meetings with the negroes at 
night." This was done to break his influenco 
over his white adherents, and to goad and irri- 
tate him. Blair pronounced the man who had 
said it " a d— d liar." This he would not retract. 
Haile was the party who should have with- 
drawn his false utterance and retracted first. 
Then Blair could and would have withdrawn 
the offensive epithet, and no man would have 
done so more readdy. Blair made no demand 
on Haile and no threat against him. T am fol- 
lowing the exparte Democratic accounts strictly, 
and you will find them just as I state. Haile 
demanded a retraction, and shot him to death 
on his refusal— shot him five times in as many 
seconds with a Winchester rifle (sixteen-shooter) 
—a Winchester taken from the Democratic audi- 
tor's office, where it was conveniently at hand, 
ready loaded— from the auditor's office, not be- 
ing open for business (a legal holiday), but un- 
locked and Haile had the entree. When be 
stepped into that office and closed the door did 
Blair follow him? By no means. When he 



SPIRIT OF THE SOLID SOUTH. 



9 



came out with the murderous -weapon in hand, 
did Blair advance on him or attack him 1 By 
no means. Blair was still standing where he 
left him, in front of the court-house, waiting for 
the assembling of the people to hold a mass 
meeting, which had heen duly advertised, and 
where Blair, as the leader of the anti-Bourbons, 
was to have spoken. Blair had the people of 
his county organized, and could not be defeated 
or answered except by Democratic rifle shots. 

Blair's murder indefensible, even be- 
fore Democratic coroner and jury— No 
plea of Self-I>efense dared — » e m o - 
cratic Sheriff protects the murderer— 
Haile Qnickly Released on bail by 
Bourbon Judge Kershaw, who de- 
clared that " truer man never lived "— 
Also indorsed by Bourbon Lieut. Gov. 
Kennedy— Cowardly character of the 
Murder. 

The Democratic coroner and Democratic jury, 
with Democratic testimony, still dared not on 
their oaths say one word of " self-defense" in 
their verdict. But a Democratic sheriff protects 
the man slayer until Democratic lawyers provide 
for his immediate liberation. Who issued the wr't 
of habeas corpus, and on ihe prisoner's showing 
alone, ordered his discharge on bail before sun- 
down on ihe very day of the murder] Major- 
General (Democrat) Judge Kershaw. Who at 
once applauded and endorsed Haile as "truer 
man never lived ? " General Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor Kennedy, whom Blair had posted as "a 
freater scoundrel " than the editor of the Cam- 
en Democratic paper, and whom Blair exposed 
and opposed. If he "put his hand to his 
breast " at all it was only the spasmodic action 
when the first ball plunged through his heart, as 
the post-mortem developed. The code requires 
equal weapons, and fair play always demands 
pistol for pistol, swords of equal length, &c. 
Using a Winchester 16-shooter against an oppo- 
nent even armed with a pistol would be in every 
sense unfair. Yet using a Winchester rifle 
against an unarmed man and riddling him in a 
few seconds with five balls, any one of which 
would have been instantly fatal, is called by the 
News and Courier killing "in self-defense." 

Blair a feeble old man, but Brave and 
Unyielding- in his hatred of Bourbon 
Tyranny— Could be neither bought nor 
bulldozed— His murder a Bourbon Ne- 
cessity—The blood of the Martyrs the 
seed of the Church. 

Blair was an old man and feeble, although 
brave and unyielding in his opposition to tyr- 
anny. He could not be bought; he could not be 
bulldozed. The only way to dispose of him was 
to kill him, and this has been done. Honor to 
the old man's memory; peace to his ashes. May 
the time yet come when even in this State the 
friends of freedom may be enabled to rear a 
monument to record some of his own immortal 
declarations in favor of the rights of man. " The 
blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.', 

The orphan daughter of Blair defends 
her Murdered Father — Bourbon ac- 
counts of Assassination either garble 
or slur over the facts — Bier father 
had no altercation with his Assassin 
before leaving home on the day of his 
Murder — Anticipated no fracas, and 
wholly unarmed — A feeble old man 
shot down by a man in the Prime of 
Life. 

The Charleston Mercury of a recent 
date contains the following : 



"If you have tears, prepare to shed them 
now." 

We h-v 1 K ™n shown a letter from the or- 
phaned u;iu ... v.. ji Colonel L.W. R. Blair, dated 
Camden, S. C, Julys, to an old "comrade in 
arms " of her father, in which she says : 

Sir: I want to give you a few items concern- 
ing the murder of my father, Colonel L. W. R. 
Blair, which the accounts given by the Demo- 
cratic newspapers will either garble or slur 
over. He had no altercation with James L. 
Haile, the murderer, previous to leaving home 
yesterday morning— anticipated no fracas of 
any kind. Papa was wholly unarmed, except 
his pocket-knife, an ordinary one, and his cane, 
■which he ever carried, and was shot down in 
that condition by a man in the prime of life and 
health. 

Blair's body seized by his Bourbon Ene- 
mies, as also his papers— They refuse 
to return his papers— Haile, the assas- 
sin, a Base Tool in the hands of a 
strong and unscrupulous party— Blair 
a U. S. Supervisor— Will his assassin be 
tried in United States Court— Bour- 
bons boast that Colonels Cash and 
Blair would not live to see Election 
Bay — Situation of Blair's Daughter, 
alone with an only Brother seven 
years old. 

His body was taken in custody by his politi- 
cal enemies, and the papers which papa had on 
his person were taken by them, and notwith- 
standing I had begged for them, have not been 
returned, and will not be, I feel assured, until 
they are perused and manipulated sufficiently. 
A letter which papa addressed to James L. 
Haile and a piece signed "Airo Niles" will 
probably appear in the Signal of this week (for 
I thiuk they we* e mailed the evening before his 
death), and will, I think, show clearly that 
James L. Haile was but a base tool in the hands 
of a strong and unscrupulous party. Such is 
my Arm conviction. I think a portion of papa 's 
registration papers were among those taken off 
his body. Please tell me if, being a United States 
supervisor, the case will not be tried in a United 
States court ? I understand that a common 
boast among the Democrats was that Colonel 
Cash and Colonel Blair would not live to see 
election day. What are these things significant 
of? Do excuse the liberty I take in addressing 
you this, but I know you were a comrade of my 
father's lang syne, as well as recently in the 
work of reform and independence, and I have no 
one with me that I can rely on. My only brother 
is 7 years old. 

Col. E. B. C. Cash denounces the Murder 
and the Murderer— Col. Blair, the Best, 
Truest, Gam est, and most Patriotic of 
Men — Blair, a feeble old man, and un- 
armed, murdered by a young and pow. 
erful man — Blair had always recog- 
nized the Code— Why was he not al- 
lowed a Fair Fight ? 

Col. E. B. C. Cash, of S. C, addressed a 
letter to Col. Eollin H. Kirk, of this city, 
from which the following extracts are 
made : " On the 4th of July Major L. W. 
R. Blair, the best, the purest, the gani- 
] est, the most patriotic man I ever saw, 
: was shot down in the streets of Cam- 
, den, and from all the reports, public and 
private, I have no doubt he was mur- 
dered on account of his political opin- 
: ions. He was unarmed, was old and 



10 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



feeble, while his opponent was a young 
and powerful man, and could have re- 
sented the insult withon f - •; : to fire- 
arms. But that would not nave accom- 
Elished the purpose. Not only so, Blair 
as always recognized ' the code,' and he 
should have been allowed a f air fight." 
Blair's hotly stripped and mocked by 
the Bourbon adherents of the Assassin 
—His gray hair was uncombed- The 
noble old man, having lost his large 
estate, cultivated like Cincinnatus a 
few acres to support his Motherless 
Children— His bloody body spit upon 
by the Cowards who Chuckle over his 
Murder. 

After he was killed his body was 
stripped and his personal appearance 
ridiculed through the Bourbon papers. 
He was charged with being filthy, and 



that his gray hair was uncombed. Poor 
but noble old man! He had lost his 
large estate, and, like Cincinnatus, cul- 
tivated a acres of land to support his 
motherless children. Perhaps he was 
not clothed in "purple and fine linen, ,r 
but is that any reason why his bloody 
body should be spit upon by the cowards 
who now chuckle over his murder? 

A Republican form of Government will 
after the election be Demanded by the 
People for South Carolina. 

"After the next election a majority of 
the people of S. C. will make an appeal 
to Congress and demand a Republican 
form of government, which is guaran- 
teed each state by the Constitution 
which the fathers made and I believe 
Congress will listen to such petition." — 
National Republican, July 17, '82. 



CHAPTEE IL 



Contested Election Cases in House of Representatives 
at the First Session of the 47th Congress. 



The right to a free ballot is the right preservative of all rights, and must and shall be maintained in 
every part of the United States.— Declaration 5, National Democratic Platform, 1880. 



[Compiled from the Speeches of Members of the House, Reports of House Com- 
mittee on Elections, and other offi cial documents.] 



PART I. 

Am Exposition of the Con- 
stitution and liaws gov- 
erning cases of Contested 
Elections toefore t la e 
flonse of Representatives. 

[Extracts from the Speech of Hon. Geo. 
M. Robeson, of N. J., in House of Rep- 
resentatives, April 28, 1882.] 

Free Government Founded upon the 
Un trammeled Will of the Majority. 

Free government rests for its founda- 
tion on the free expression of the peo- 
ple's will. Elections are the accepted 
and legal methods through which that 
will is expressed and presented. The 
machinery of elections, the regulation 
of ballots and ballot-boxes, of officers, 
lists and records, the certifications of 



inspectors, commissioners, and of gov- 
ernors, are the safeguards of the free 
and fair exercise of that will and the 
prima facie evidences of its expression 
and result. They furnish the prescribed 
and accepted primary evidences upon 
which, when uncontroverted, is deter- 
mined the question whether at the elec- 
tion a majority of the qualified voters 
have cast their ballots for a qualified 
candidate. Unless the election is free it 
is no election, since it lacks its very es- 
sence. Unless it is controlled by the 
majority it does not fulfill the idea of 
representative government. Unless 
there are officers who may primarily 
determine who has received the major- 
ity there is no means of deciding in the 
first instance that vital question. Un- 
less they have the power to judge and 
to certify we have no record of their de- 
cision. Unless this, prima facie evidence, 
when controverted, is to be subjected to 
the great tests of legal judgment and 
human reason, then there is no use of 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



11 



higher courts to consider or superior 
ribuuals to decide. 

Constitutional qualifications limiting 
and defining classes of electors. 

To preserve the purity of election, 
and to the end that the will of the au- 
thorized voter is not swallowed up and 
defeated by the action of illegal usurp 
ers of his power, qualifications are pro- 
vided by constitutional provisions to 
limit and define the classes and the in- 
dividuals 4n whom the elective power 
alone resides. By our Constitution it is 
provided that— 

The House of Representatives shall be com- 
posed of members chosen every second year by 
the people of the several States, and the elect- 
ors in each State shall have the qualifications 
requisite for electors of the most numerous 
branch of the State Legislature. 

By the fifteenth amendment it is pro- 
vided that— 

The right of citizens of the United States to 
vote shall not be denied or abridged by the 
United States or by any State on account of 
race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

These are the general qualifications 
fixed by the Constitution of the United 
States for the electors of Representa- 
tives in Congress. We turn to the State 
constitution of each State to determine 
the general qualifications of these elec- 
tors by finding the general qualifications 
for electors of the most numerous 
branch of the State Legislature; and 
those qualifications under the restric- 
tion of the fifteenth amendment make 
the qualifications of voters for Repre- 
sentatives in Congress, which no law of 
the State can add to or take away from 
by direct enactment or indirect pro- 
vision. 

Constitutional qualifications of Repre- 
sentatives—Constitutional elections- 
Constitutional conditions necessary to 
secure lawful rignt to seat in House. 

Other clauses of the Constitution pro- 
vide and fix the qualifications of the 
Representative. The spirit of our gov- 
ernment embodied in its general system 
and the provision of the Constitution 
which I have just cited unite to fix and 
declare the governing and essential 
principle that if a qualified Representa- 
tive receives at a constitutional election 
a majority of qualified votes he is en- 
titled to his seat. These are the essen- 
tial, governing, immovable, unassail- 
able conditions upon which rest all 
constitutional elections. There is the 
seat provided by the Constitution ; 
there is the qualified member ; there 
is the majority of the qualified vot- 
ers; the qualified Representative and 
the qualified majority give the seat. 
That is the end to be attained, and we 
only attain the end of free government 



and accomplish the free representation 
which our Constitution guarantees to 
the people when we put in the seat of 
the Representative the qualified man 
who has received a majority of qualified 
votes. These are the great legal pillars of 
the Constitution, the great foundation 
supports upon which rests the structure 
of our government. They are thus the 
great objects to be reached. All else — 
and I hesitate not to declare it as a le- 
gal proposition which cannot be sue 
cessfully disputed — all else is machin- 
ery for the accomplishment of these 
essential objects; all other provisions, 
whether State or National, are for the 
purpose of guaranteeing fair elections,, 
surrounding them with proper safe- 
guards, preserving and recording the 
evidence, providing for its proper at- 
testation to afford the proper prima fa- 
cie evidence of their fairness and result. 
The great essential conditions, if I have 
stated and characterized them properly, 
cannot be overthrown or swept away by 
the very means that are provided 
merely to preserve them. The spirit of 
the Constitution cannot be lost nor the 
requirements changed or modified by 
the legal and technical provisions made 
to record and illustrate them. There- 
fore, all the machinery which lies be- 
tween these great landmarks is merely 
the machinery of evidence provided for 
the purpose of ascertaining and apply- 
ing them and recording and proving the 
results of their application, and they 
are in their nature subject to attack and 
to be overthrown by other evidence. 
Since they are prima facie merely, they 
satisfy the requirements of the law 
when undisputed; they fulfill the law 
when, even though disputed, they are 
not overthrown. But when they are 
overthrown, it is our duty to disregard 
them and enforce the truth as otherwise 
established. If, in the light of other 
and better evidence, they are found 
wrongfully to deprive a member of his 
seat, the right of the member is not 
thereby lost, but he has a constitutional 
right to it notwithstanding, and it is 
the sworn constitutional duty of every 
man who composes the court that de- 
cides the question to consider and pass 
upon the evidence, and award the seat 
according to the result, upon his own 
judgment. 

Let me repeat that proposition. The 
constitutional requirements are abso- 
lute ; the qualifications are absolute ; 
the necessity for a majority is absolute ; 
the right of the elected man to his seat 
is absolute. But all the machinery 
which intervenes between the qualified 
candidate, elected by the qualified vot- 
ers, and the constitutional seat is may 
cliinery for evidence only, and is subject 
to be met and overthrown and destroyed 
whether it be the result of force, or of 
fraud, of intricacy, or ignorance. 



12 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



These are the general principles. 
Now, how and by whom are they to be 
applied f 

The House, under the Constitution, the 
Highest Court having jurisdiction 
over the Election and Returns and 
Qualifications of its own Members. 

By the fifth section of the same Con- 
stitution it is provided " that each 
House of Congress shall be the judge of 
the election and returns and qualifica- 
tions of its own members." That pro- 
vision makes us the court for the main- 
tenance and application of these princi- 
ples. If gentlemen desire it, I readily 
admit that it makes us a court with the 
duties and only the powers of a court of 
largest jurisdiction and last resort. I ad- 
mit that we are to "judge." But we are 
a court limited only;, as far as we are by 
express language limited at all, by the 
word ' 'judge" and the objects to which 
•our judgment is to be directed. Still, 
we are a court, and though a court, of 
last resort and of highest powers. A 
«ourt of highest general powers known 
to the spirit of the law in the atmos- 
phere which we live is a court of origi- 
nal and natural equity ; not a tech- 
nical court of equity, such as in the 
progress of commercial transactions 
business development binds itself to 
certain formal and technical and fixed 
rules and modes of evidence and pro- 
ceeding, but an original court founded 
upon the broad principles of equity. 
And these are, says Blackstone, lex non 
exacte definet, sed arbitria boni vire per- 
mitlet. N ot what the law exactly defines, 
but what the judgment of good men 
permit. The Constitution creates the 
court without limit of power except by 
the use of the word judge and the men- 
tion of the subject -matterf to be judged 
of and determined. 

By this action it clothed us with every 
power known to the spirit of our legal 
system, for the examination and deter- 
mination of our questions, and left open 
to us without technical restraint every 
avenue for the investigation and estab- 
lishment of truth. 

We are a court, then, of high equity, 
proceeding according to legal processes 
to investigate truths, the conditions of 
which are defined and fixed by con- 
stitutional law, but un trammeled and 
unregulated in the order of our pro- 
cesses or the application of the princi- 
ples by statute or organic law. We are 
the highest court on these subjects 
known to our organic law ; to us an ap- 
peal lies from all other courts who have 
or assume jurisdiction of them ; and for 
the settlement of them we have all the 
powers of all courts. In the exercise of 
these powers we may not make new 
principles of evidence, for we are to 
judge according to the logic of human 



reason and the light of civilized knowl- 
edge, and these have accepted and fixed 
certain general sanctions of organized 
investigation which we may not disre- 
gard. But as we are left free by our 
own Constitution, so weareuntrammeled 
by State laws or State machinery in the 
investigation of truth and in the appli- 
cation to the principles of evidence. 
We are not to make new principles, 
because those are apart of the common 
law established by the centuries of civ- 
ilization, the fruits of which we enjoy 
and in the atmosphere of which we live. 
But we are a law unto ourselves, when 
it comes for the application of the ad- 
mitted principles of evidence, when it 
comes to the last text for the estab- 
lishment of real truth and the actual 
carrying out of the requirements of the 
Constitution, whose creatures we are 
and whose principles we are organized 
to execute. I do not mean that it 
is not safer and better for this 
House, acting as a court, to ascer- 
tain the right and establish it if possi- 
ble by means of the ordinary rules for 
the investigation of truth practiced in 
the ordinary courts and accepted by the 
common people of the country. I do 
not mean to deny that, but I do mean to 
say that when the truth is apparent or 
admitted we are not to be debarred 
from accepting it and establishing it by 
the intervention of mere technical rules 
of evidence or by the local decisions of 
rule-bound and inferior courts. Now, 
the governing fact of this case is estab- 
lished, as I understand it, by the ad- 
mitted fact of a majority of 310 qualified 
votes for John R. Lynch, found in the 
ballot-boxes and returned by the in- 
spectors. 

Imperative Obligation of Members to 
give to others their Constitutional 
Rights and exercise themselves their 
Constitutional Duties. 

Now, since this is so, I trust my friends 
will not " stick in the bark " of this in- 
vestigation, but will permit their viewe 
of this case to rise to the height of ths 
great central idea for which the invest- 
igation is made, and that they will ac- 
cept the fact that when the truth is evi- 
dent or admitted the rules to ascertain 
it are "functus," and the imperative ob- 
ligation is upon them to accept it and 
give to others their constitutional rights 
and exercise for themselves their con- 
stitutional duty. 

What is evidence ? Evidence is that 
which convinces the judgment of the 
court, that which makes trutli appear 
to the tribunal to which it is presented, 
and when it appears or is admitted to a 
court which has a constitutional power 
to do it, that court has not only the 
power but the duty to disregard condi- 
tions which do not affect the substance, 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



13 



to sweep away technicalities, to break 
through trammels, to tread down for- 
mal rules, to accept the truth offered, 
and reach the very right of the case, 
and execute that with our power. 
* * * * 

Constitutional Limit of Power of State 
over the Election, and Evidence of 
Election of Representatives. 

As I have said, the qualifications of 
voters are fixed by reference to State 
constitutions and defined by State deci- 
sions, unless these are clearly wrong, or 
absurd, or inconsistent with the require- 
ments of the Constitution of the United 
States, to tend to defeat the very ob- 
jects of its provisions, or some of the 
provisions of the laws which the gen- 
eral government has a right to make 
and has exercised its powers to make. 

There is but one law that has been 
made on this subject by the law-mak- 
ing power of the United States. It is to 
be found in section 27 of the Revised 
Statutes : 

All votes for Representatives in Congress 
must be by written or printed ballot ; and all 
votes received or recorded contrary to this 
section sliall be of no effect. 

In this case, then, we must appeal to 
the constitution of Mississippi to see 
who are qualified voters. We must also 
see that their votes when cast were by 
written or printed ballot, for the pro- 
vision which was made to preserve the 
principle of voting by ballot, namely, 
the right of secret ballot if the voter 
chooses to claim and to exercise it. State 
laws may define the qualifications of 
voters; that power is given to the States 
under the Constitution. They may fix, 
where the laws of the United States 
have not fixed, "the time, place, and 
manner of holding elections." They 
may of course provide their machinery, 
their officers, and their modes of certi- 
fying and attestation, which shall be 
prima facie evidence, but they cannot 
impose either upon the voter any other 
qualification or upon this House any 
other than the constitutional limit of 
jurisdiction or any State rule of evi- 
dence or construction. No State can say 
to this House, either in words or in ef- 
fect, "We fix certificates of attestation ; 
we make them governing and final, 
and you, Representatives of the United 
States, in the exercise of your duty un- 
der the Constitution, must obey the lim- 
its which we fix upon the modes and 
manner and effect of proof." I say to 
learned gentlemen, fix your own rules 
of proof ; establish your own attestat 
tion ; make out your primary case ; i- 
undisputed it will stand, but if broughf 
to the test of controversy we will try it 
by those tests of investigation and deci- 
sion which seem to us to be properly ap- 



plicable to govern the case and elicit 
the actual truth. 

Who gave to the State of Mississippi 
or any other State the right to limit the 
committees of this House in their in- 
vestigation, or this House in its judg- 
ments by their technical rules of evi- 
dence, or by the weight which the 
decision even of their highest courts 
give to it ? If the qualifications of the 
electors and the qualifications of the 
elected and the actual majority are the 
great immovable and unassailable con- 
ditions — if all else is machinery, mere 
mode for preserving, certifying, attest- 
ing, and evidencing the results -then I 
say that, sitting as a court, in its high- 
est sense, with all the powers of all 
courts, fixing our own rules for the ap- 
plication of legal principles of evidence, 
we have the right at all times and at all 
points to meet the suggestions of these 
prima facie certificates, their defects, 
their absence, or their falsity, by other 
proof, and by its force, if effective for 
that purpose, to correct, suppress, or 
overthrow them. 



PART II. 
Lynch vs. Chalmers. 

The Famous "Shoestring District*"— The 
"Black District of Mississippi"— Five 
Hundred Miles Long and Fifty Miles 
Wide— Infamous Bourbon Gerryman- 
dering-. 

This district, the sixth Congressional 
district of Mississippi, and familiarly 
called the "Shoestring District," was be- 
tween 400 and 500 miles long, and on an 
average about 40 miles wide. It was com- 
prised of the counties of Adams, Bolivar, 
Claiborne, Coahoma, Issaquena, Jeffer- 
son, Quitman, Sharkey, Tunica, Warren, 
Washington, and Wilkinson — a long 
string of counties lying along the Mis- 
sissippi river, and extending the whole 
length of the State. No one could notice 
its extraordinary formation without ex- 
claiming "why is this thus?" 

As a part of the history of this country 
it is well known that that district was 
so made because it contained a large 
black population, exceeding by many 
thousands the white population. Each 
county in the district has a majority of 
blacks over whites. It was confessedly 
so made because it eliminated from 
the rest of the districts of the State a 
large black vote, and permitted them 
to be felt without the influence of that 
black vote. It was confessedly made 
that the district might remain, as it has 
been familiarly termed, "the black dis- 
trict of Mississippi." 

At the last election, held in November, 
1880, James Roland Chalmers (Demo- 



14 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



erat) and John Lynch (colored Repub- 
lican) were candidates for a seat in the 
47th Congress. 

Mr. lynch in Intelligence, Character, 
Honesty of purpose, and Mental Cali- 
ber the foremost man of his Race. 

Hon. Casey Young, an ex-member of 
the House from Tennessee, in an argu- 
ment before the House Committee of 
Elections in behalf of Mr. Chalmers, de- 
scribed Mr. Lynch in the following lan- 
guage : 

I will say for the contestant that his presenta- 
tion of his own casi before this committee on 
yesterday" was so forcibV,, and admirable 
that if the argument h&o then closed with- 
out opporvunity for reply on our side he would 
have gained an easy victory. I will say further 
for Mr. Lynch, from what f know of him and 
what I have heard, that in point of intelligence, 
character,honesty of purpose,and mental caliber 
he is. without a doubt, the foremost man of his 
race in the country. 

"In point of intelligence, character, 
honesty of purpose, and mental caliber, 
he is, without a doubt, the foremost man 
of his race in this country." Then why 
refuse him his seat? The only answer 
was, and be it spoken to the eternal 
shame of Democracy, he is a man of 
color ! 

Chalmers "counted in" by a Fraudu- 
lent, Corrupt, and Lawless Manipula- 
tion of the Election Machinery. 

The contestant (Lynch) claimed the 
seat occupied by the contestee (Chal- 
mers) on the ground, stated in the brief- 
est manner possible, and stripped of all 
legal verbiage, that a clear majority of 
legal votes w 7 hich were cast at the elec- 
tion held on November 2, 1880, in the 
sixth district of Mississippi, were really 
and honestly cast for him ; but that by 
fraudulent, corrupt, and lawless manipu- 
lation of the election machinery ; by the 
throwing out by the county commission- 
ers of election, unjustly and illegally, 
of the votes thrown for him at a great 
number of polls ; by the rejection of 
more than 2,000 votes in one county 
alone, which were honestly given to him; 
because of dashes, mere punctuation 
marks used by the printers in making 
up the ballots which were voted in good 
faith by his supporters, and by other 
fraudulent devices set out in particular 
in his notice of contest, a seeming ma- 
jority was secured by Mr. Chalmers in 
defiance of justice and, public law, in 
mockery of the hackneyed words "a free 
ballot and a fair count." 

The "official" returns show the result 
to be: for J. R. Chalmers, 9,171 votes; 
and for J. R. Lynch, 5,393 votes, whicli 
leaves a majority for Mr. Chalmers of 
3,779. 
The Election Machinery of Mississippi. 

The first provision of the Mississippi 
law with reference to the election is; 



The Governor of the State appoints 
three commissioners of election, who 
shall be of different political parties. 
J The machinery of the election is put in 
i the hands of the governor through this 
| power to appoint. The commissioners, 
I in turn, appoint three inspectors for 
i each precinct. Then there are provisions 
i as to how the electors may elect, in case 
I these appointees do not serve, &c. 
These inspectors receive from the clerk, 
who is the registrar in the first instance, 
a copy of the registration-list (called 
the poll-book) for the precincts in which 
the inspectors are appointed. These-in- 
spectors, with this poll-book, open the 
election. They are required by law to 
keep, during the deposit of the ballots, 
a poll-list. They are also required to 
make out a tally-sheet when they count 
the votes, and to return the ballots, the 
ballot-boxes, the poll-books, the poll- 
lists, and the tally-sheets to the commis- 
sioners of election on a day subsequent 
to the election. 



Bourbon Frauds in Warren County and 
their Character. 

In the county of Warren 2,039 votes 
cast for Mr. Lynch and 20 votes 
cast for Mr. Chalmers were rejected by 
the county commissioners, to whom tlie 
inspectors wiio held the election in the 
various precincts of that county (and 
who had passed on them as valid) had 
made their certified returns. They were 
thrown out by the county commission- 
ers on the ground that the ballots cast 
for Mr. Lynch were in violation of sec- 
tion 137 of the code of Mississippi, which 
declares that — 



The ballots shall he without any mark or de- 
vice by which one ticket may be known or dis- 
tinguished from another, excepting the words 
at the head of the ticket. 



In the Rodney precinct of Jefferson 
County 247 votes were cast for Mr. Lynch 
and 95 votes for Mr. Chalmers, a clear 
majority for Mr. Lynch of 152 votes, 
and the ballot-box and its contents, 
after the close of the election were, 
seized and destroyed. Who did this 
high-handed outrage the testimony does 
not show. It is sufficient to say that no 
one has yet even hinted that it was done 
for the benefit of Mr. Lynch. The votes 
cast for Mr. Lynch at Rodney were of 
the same character as those thrown out 
in the county of Warren. The aggre- 
gate vote thus lost to Mr. Lynch over 
that in the same way lost to Mr. Chalm- 
ers in Warren County and in Rodney 
precinct of Jefferson County is 2,161. 
subtract this number from Mr. Chalm- 
ers' certified majority of 3,779, and it 
would cut down his? majority to 1,618 
votes. 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



15 



Issaquena County — Neglect or Ignor- 
ance or Fraud of Bourbon Election 
Managers !Legal Ground in Bourbon 
Judgment for Disfranchisement of Re- 
publicans. 

In the county of Issaquena the com- 
missioners of the county "threw out, 
and rejected, and refused to make any 
return of 785 legal votes for ivhich Lynch 
had been duly polled by the voters, and 
duly received, counted, and returned by 
the inspectors who held the election." 
Chalmers denied that the commissioners 
■''threw out and rejected 735 votes which 
had been duly revised, (a new word,) 
counted, and returned by the inspectors 
of election." Yet he admits that four 
boxes of the county— to wit, Skipworth, 
Ben Lomond, Ingomar, and Hay's Land- 
ing — were not counted by the commis- 
sioners " because the inspectors of elec- 
tion did not make out and return any 
certified statement of the election as re- 
quired by law." 

Now, m the official record of the testi- 
mony in the case, we find that the com- 
missioners state that they rejected these 
polls because they "did not find any sep- 
arate lists of the mimes of the voters in 
the box, as required by section 139 of the 
EevisedCodeof the State of Mississippi." 
That section provides that— 

The statement of the result of the election at 
each precinct shall he certified and signed by 
theinspectors and the clerks, and the poll-hook, 
tally-list, list of voters, hallot-hoxes. and ballots 
shall all he delivered to the commissioners of 
election. 

The certificates of this record also 
contains copies of the inspectors of these 
four precincts, with a copy of the tally- 
sheet of each, which show that 785 votes 
were cast for Mr. Lynch and 115 for Mr. 
Chalmers, which were not counted be- 
cause the lists of the voters' names were 
not sent up with the poll-books, tally- 
lists, ballot-boxes, and ballots. 

Thus it is indisputably shown that in 
Issaquena County Mr. Lynch was de- 
prived of 785 votes, and deducting the 
115 votes cast for Mr. Chalmers (which 
had to be rejected in order to reject Mr. 
Lynch's still larger vote) Mr. Lynch 
suffered a net loss of 670 in that county 
—legal, properly cast, properly counted, 
as the very ballots in the ballot-boxes 
before these Democratic county commis- 
sioners showed, but rejected by them 
because the Democratic inspectors failed 
to send up by accident, or by design, a 
list of the voters' names, as the statute 
directed them to do. 

And Mr. Chalmers modestly demanded 
that Mr. Lynch should suffer for the 
mistakes (?) or willful frauds of his, 
Mr. Chalmers', friends. And this in a 
matter where the statute is clearly di- 
rectory merely, and not mandatory. 



Fraudulent Suppression of Republican 
Majority in Adams County. 

In the county of Adams, it appears 
from the record of testimony that in 
this county the poll for the precinct of 
Dead Man's Bend was thrown out by 
the county commissioners. The reason 
given is, as sworn to by W. N. White- 
hurst, a Democratic county commission- 
er, as follows : 

The only reason I recollect for rejecting the 
Dead Man's Bend precinct was because no list 
of voters was sent up. 

In this he is corroborated by Thomas 
R. Quateman, another Democratic 
county commissioner, who swears : 

The Dead Man's Bend precinct box was re- 
jected because of informality ; the inspectors 
1 did not comply with the law and furnished no 
list of the voters. 

William J. Henderson, the Repub- 
lican commissioner, swears to the same 
facts and shows, as do the two United 
States supervisors, one a Democrat and 
the other a Republican, that the vote 
at Dead Man's Bend actually cast, re- 
ceived, and counted by the officers who 
i held the election was 85 votes for Lynch 
J and 15 for Chalmers. This gave a clear 
majority of 70 votes to Mr. Lynch. 

In like manner the vote or Palestine 
precinct was thrown out because 35 
more votes or ballots were in the box 
than the number of names on the "list" 
of voters signed by the clerk. Here the 
list was set up, but the tally-sheet 
showed 39 votes in excess over the list 
of voters. It showed that 270 votes 
were given to Lynch and 17 to Chalmers. 
Lenox Scott, the United States super- 
visor, who was present, swears that 231 
votes were cast lor Mr. Lynch. Lynch's 
supporters voted open tickets. He saw 
that many openly voted ! He also swears 
that 17 votes were cast for Mr. Chalm- 
ers. 

Now, it was to the interest of Mr. 
Chalmers that the entire vote should be 
thrown out. He would lose 17 votes, 
but his adversary would lose 231 votes. 
Any scheme to throw out the entire vote 
was greatly to his advantage, just as the 
throwing out of 2,929 votes in Warren 
county to only 20 of his votes was to his 
advantage. And the Palestine poll was 
thrown out ! A fraud was perpetrated. 
Mr. Chalmers' friends had the election 
machinery in their own hands. These 
are the simple, undeniable facts. Who 
perpetrated the fraud in this instance 
by placing the 35 fraudulent votes in 
the box the testimony does not abso- 
lutely disclose. But it must satisfy any 
j mind that it worked to the advantage 
of Mr. Chalmers, and the testimony is 
clear, with nothing contradicting' it, 
that Mr. Chalmers got 17 votes at Pal- 
estine poll, while Mr. Lynch got at least 



16 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES, 



231 votes — a clear majority of 214 votes, 
which added to the 70 majority at Dead 
Man's Bend makes a clear majority, 
thrown out by the commissioners, on 
technical grounds, of 284 votes in Adams 
County over those thrown out which 
were cast for Mr. Chalmers. 

As to the box at Kingston precinct we 
have the following state of facts : 

First. The only evidence in support 
of the contestee is the return of the 
sworn officers. On the other hand, we 
have the evidence of five witnesses 
whose uncontradicted testimony estab- 
lishes first, that this box before the 
count was completed was twice taken 
some distance from the place where the 
voting was going on ; that the aperture 
into which the ballots were put was not 
sealed. The law of Mississippi requires 
that this aperture shall be sealed during 
any recess or adjournment. That is one 
fact. 

Secondly. These witnesses testify that 
there were from three hundred and fifty 
to three hundred and sixty pronounced 
Republicans at that precinct. 

Thirdly. One of. these witnesses testi- 
fies that at that poll on that day he tal- 
lied one hundred and sixty Republican 
voters whose tickets he saw on his pri- 
vate tally-list, and that as the rest of 
them came up and voted they said, 
"Give me a Lynch ticket," and put it 
in. Now it is objected that this is hear- 
say evidence. But in the Vallandigham 
and other cases it was settled that what 
a man says at the time he votes should 
be held to be competent evidence as the 
confession of a party interested. 

Thus the proof is, first, that there 
were 350 or 360 Republicans in that pre- 
cinct; secondly, that they voted that 
day ; thirdly, that 160 of them voted 
open tickets and the rest said "Lynch" 
when they came up and presented their 
ticket. Yet we have this surprising re- 
sult—that only 159 votes are returned 
there for Mr. Lynch, and the balance 
for Mr. Chalmers. 

Bourbon Frauds in Bolivar County. 

In Bolivar County the commissioners 
threw out the vote of Australia, Glen- 
coe, and Bolivar precincts. They gave 
the reasons as follows : 

Australia, 30 Democratic and 192 Republican 
votes, because the returns were not certified to 
by the inspectors or tbe clerks. 

Bolivar precinct, 45 Democratic and 311 Re- 
publican votes, because there was no certified 
returns from tbe inspectors and clerks. 

We have rejected the Glencoe precinct,27 Dem- 
ocratic, 233 Republican votes, because the vote 
was counted out in party by all the inspectors 
and clerks, and then discontinued until next 
day, when the count was finished by one in- 
spector and one clerk, and a very imperfect 
tally-sheet and return sent in by those two not 
certified to. 

Thus it will be seen that 102 Demo- 
cratic votes arid 786 Republican votes 



were thrown out by the county com- 
missioners ; aud this is corroborated by 
the certified statement of O. Davis, chief 
United States supervisor. He certifies 
that the supervisors' returns showed 
that the vote in these precincts were : 
Australia, 30 votes for Chalmers and 192 
for Lynch ; Bolivar, no return for Chal- 
mers, 311 for Lynch ; Glencoe, 27 votes 
for Chalmers, 331 for Lynch. This ex- 
actly agrees with the statement of the 
county commissioners, save in Bolivar 
no return is made for Chalmers' vote, 
which Mr. Lynch concedes was 45 ; and 
in Glencoe the county commissioners 
certiy tfhat there were 233 Republican 
votes, while the supervisor certifies that 
Lynch, the Republican candidate for 
Congress, only got 231 of the 233 Repub- 
lican votes. 

It thus clearly appears that by the 
throwing out of these three precincts in 
Bolivar County Mr. Lynch lost over the 
votes for Chalmers thrown out 632 
votes. Let it be observed, there is no 
pretense that these votes were not le- 
gally cast by the electors and ' legally 
E laced in the box by the inspectors who 
eld the election, and legally and p> op- 
erly sent up to the county commission- 
ers in the ballot-boxes. 

The Bourbons Fraudulently Suppress 
the Tote of Washington County. 

Now, passing to Washington County, 
we find in the record of testimony a tab- 
ular vote of said county attested by the 
county commissioners, by which it ap- 
pears that against the name of Lake 
Washington precinct are the words: 
"Rejected from canvass on account of 
illegal returns ; " and against Refuge 
precinct are the words "Rejected 
from canvass on account of the 
returns not being signed by the in- 
spectors of elections." Against Stone- 
ville precinct are the words: "Rejected 
from canvass on account of no statement 
of election being returned by inspectors 
of election." * * * * 

On the record of testimony appears 
the certified statement of the two United 
States supervisors— one a Republican, 
the other a Democrat. Their statement 
shows that at Lake Washington Mr. 
Lynch received 112 votes, against 229 
votes for Mr. Chalmers. This is corrob- 
orated by the certified statement of Mr. 
J. G. Marshall, the circuit clerk, who 
gives the vote as 112 for Lyncli and 229 
for Chalmers. 

In this precinct it appears that Mr. 
Chalmers loses by the throwing out of 
the vote 117 votes more than Mr. Lynch. 
This would seem to break the rule that 
the rejection of entire ballot-boxes was 
to the injury of Mr. Lynch, but with this 
precinct was thrown out the vote in the 
same county of Refuge and Stoneville 
precincts. As to Refuge precinct, the 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



17 



two United States supervisors— one a 
Republican and one a Democrat, certify 
that the vote stood : John R. Lynch 99, 
and James R. Chalmers 67, giving Mr. 
Lynch a majority of 32. And as to 
Stoneville precinct, John Jones, the j 
United States supervisor, certifies that 
Mr. Lynch received 315 votes, and Mr. j 
Chalmers 60 votes; he swears, when 
called upon as a witness, that Mr. 
Lynch received 315 votes and Mr. Chal- j 
mers 60 votes. This shows Mr. Lynch 
got a majority at Stoneville of 289 votes, 
and adding his majority of 32 at Refuge 
would make an aggregate majority of 
321 votes, as against the majority of 117 
of Mr. Chalmers at Lake Washington. 
And this would show a net loss of 204 
votes in the rejection of the three pre- ' 
cincts of Lake Washington, Refuge, and 
Stoneville, which were rejected at the 
same time by the same board of commis- ' 
sioners. It shows clearly that where . 
a wrong was done to Mr. Chalmers a j 
double wrong was done to Mr. Lynch. 

Coahoma County— Disfranchisement of 
its Republican Citizens by Bourbon 

Frauds.. 

All the polls were thrown out in Coa- 
homa County by the county commission- 
ers save Friar's Point, namely : Clarks- 
dale, Sunflower, Jonestown, Dublin, and 
Magnolia. Why they were thrown out j 
the county commissioners do not certi- 
fy. But we have the certified statement, I 
under seal, of the three inspectors who • 
held the election at Clarksdale. They I 
certify that James R. Chalmers received | 
117 votes and John R. Lynch 307; a clear 
loss to Lynch of 190 votes. 

A certified statement, signed by all I 
the inspectors and clerks, shows that at : 
Sunflower Mr. Chalmers received 77 
votes and Mr. Lynch 32; a clear loss to ' 
Mr. Chalmers of 45 votes. 

The inspectors and clerks at Dublin 
precinct certify that Mr. Chalmers re- 
ceived 63 votes and Mr. Lynch 70 votes; 
a loss to Mr. Lynch of 7 votes. 

The certificate of W. W. Shelby, one 
of the inspectors, states that at Magno- 
lia precinct J. R. Chalmers received 23 
votes and John R. Lynch 109 votes; 
clear loss to Mr. Lynch of 86. 

And this will give in the precincts of 
Clarksdale, Sunflower, Dublin, and 
Magnolia, of Coahoma County, where 
the actual vote is certified to and proved 
by the very men, the inspectors,^ rho held 
the election, a clear majority of 238 in 
Coahoma County in favor of Mr. Lynch, 
but thrown out arbitrarily by the coun- 
ty commissioners, who do not even deign 
to give a reason why they did so, but do 
certify that they give a "correct report 
of the votes cast in the election held in 
Coahoma County." 



Aggregates of Lynch's Majorities Sup- 
pressed upon Puerile Technical 
Grounds. 

Now, add together these votes — these 
clear majorities for Mr. Lynch at pre- 
cincts thrown out by the county com- 
missioners where there is in the entire 
record no pretense or claim, or decent 
insinuations even, that the election was 
not fairly held, so far as Mr. Lynch is 
concerned, the ballots legally cast, prop- 
erly placed in the box, honestly counted, 
and the will of the electors fairly, hon- 
estly, and clearly expressed, and we 
have — 

In Warren County, Lynch's re- 
jected majority 2,009 

In Rodney precinct of Jefferson 
County, Lynch's rejected major- 
ity 152 

In Issaquena County, Lynch's re- 
jected majority 670 

In Adams County, Lynch's re- 
jected majority 284 

In Bolivar County, Lynch's re- 
jected majority 632 

In Washington County, Lynch's 
rejected majority 204 

In Coahoma County, Lynch's re- 
j ected majority 238 

Making a total of , 4, 189 

as against Mr. Chalmers' majority on 
the face of the returns of 3,779, thus giv- 
ing a clear, unquestioned, undoubted, 
undeniable majority of 410 votes for Mr. 
Lynch, as certified to by the very men— 
Democrats almost every one of them— v?h.o 
held the election at the various precincts 
which we have passed in review, who re - 
ceived the ballots from the hands of the 
voters and placed them in the ballot- 
boxes, and who sent those ballot-boxes 
containing those very ballots up to the 
county commissioners, and with them 
the very tally-sheets; but they were re- 
jected by those wise (?) county commis- 
sioners for the reasons — 

First. Because in Warren County 
and in Rodney precinct of Jefferson 
County, printers' dashes were used as 
punctuation marks on the face of the 
tickets which the electors voted in good 
faith, and concerning which Mr. Charles 
Winkley, a practical printer, who was 
called as a witness by Mr. Chalmers him- 
self, swears that "the dashes used are 
such as any printer of taste would either 
put in or leave out according as he want- 
ed to lengthen or shorten the ticket to 
suit the paper or otherwise." That is 
what Mr. Chalmers' own witness sol- 
emnly swears ; or, 

Second. Because the inspectors who 
held the election, by accident (?) or de- 
sign, tailed to send up a list of the vot- 
ers' names from their polls to the coun- 
ty commissioners, or failed properly, in 



18 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



a technical sense, to sign the returns ; 
or, 

Third. As in the case of Coahoma 
County, because the county commiss- 
ioners, leaving us in most blissful igno- 
rance, do not even pretend to offer an 
excuse why they threw out the returns 
of Clarksdale, Sunflower, Jonestown, 
Dublin, and Magnolia precincts — only 
just they did so! In the record of this 
case there is not a hint why they so 
acted, but in the record of the case of 
Buchanan vs. Manning, from the same 
State of Mississippi, on page 6, the mat- 
ter is fully explained. - 



Relative White and Colored Population 
in Mississippi and the Shoestring- 
District— Further Indubitable Proofs 
of Infamous Bourbon Frauds. 

According to the official census reports 
of 1880 the State of Mississippi contain- 
ed a white population of 479,398, and a 
colored population of 650,291, making an 
excess of colored people in Mississippi 
of 170,893. The population of the coun- 
ties composing the sixth district of the 
State alphabetically stated are as fol- 
lows, namely : 



Counties. 



Adams 

Bolivar 

Claiborne 

Coahoma 

Issaquena 

Jefferson 

Quitman 

Sharkey 

Tunica 

Warren 

Washington... 
Wilkinson 

Total 



White. 



4,796 
2,594 
3,910 
2,412 

825 
4,260 

592 
1,405 
1,256 
8,717 
3,478 
3,570 



Colored. 



853 
,958 
,853 
156 
178 
054 
815 
801 
205 
521 
889 
245 



37,916 151,528 



Making an excess of colored people in 
this district of 113,612, nine-tenths of 
whom would have voted the Republican 
ticket if left in the free, voluntary, and 
undisturbed possession of their rights . 

Now, let us examine into the official 
vote upon which Chalmers claimed his 
right to the contested seat. The of- 
ficial records are as follows, showing, 
first, the inspectors' returns to the 
State commissioners ; second, the num- 
ber of votes rejected by the commiss- 
ioners; and third, the commissioners' 
final returns to the Secretary of State, 
as per appended tabulated statement, 
namely : 





00 


© 

.a 


© © 










3S 


>>« 


© 




g|. 


^s 






m 


© © 


i- cs 














© 2 






n 




"Tr © 


Counties. 


§§ 


S3 


B?>> 




5 o 
S-t- 3 


S O 

o 

> 


ill 




02 




















fit 


© 

a 


© 


© 

a 


■g a 




a 


cj 


fl 


"3 


a 






>> 


A 


>> 


a 


>> 


a 




4 


o 


h3 


o 


i-i 


O 


Adams 


1,214 
1,715 
1,235 

283 


1,419 
403 
594 


316 


32 


898 
979 
352 


1,387 
301 
225 

1,061 
59 


Bolivar 


736 


102 
369 


Coahoma 


883 


rhiiborne 


1,061 
173 






288 


Issaquena 


1,118 


785 


114 


333 


Jeflerson 


383 


1,043 
153 


247 


92 


136 


951 
153 

484 

239 

1,014 

1,607 


Quitman 


83 






83 


Sharkey 


175 

506 
2,056 
1,298 


484 

239 

1,034 

1,963 






175 

506 
57 

772 


Tunica 






Warren 


2,029 
356 


20 

356 


Washington 


Wilkinson 


814 


1,961 






814 


1,691 








Total 


10,915 


10,257 


5,522 


1,085 


5,393 


9 172 







The summing up of the above figures 
shows that the votes of the district re- 
turned by the inspectors of elections to 
the State commissioners were: For 
Lynch, 10,915; for Chalmers, 10,257; 
leaving an original majority for Lynch 
of 658. The votes rejected by the com- 
missioners were : For Lynch, 5,522; for 
Chalmers, 1,085; making in favor of 
Chalmers, 4,437. The votes returned by 
the commissioners to the Secretary of 
State were: For Lvnch, 5,393; for Chal- 
mers, 9,172 ; showing a majority for 
Chalmers of 3,779, notwithstanding the 
fact that the inspectors had already, as 
before shown, returned a majority for 
Lynch of 658. 

What then is the inevitable conclu- 
sion? 

When we are officially shown that the 
twelve counties composing the sixth 
Congressional district of Mississippi 
contain only 37,916 white population, in- 
cluding women and children, and a col- 
ored population of 151,528, or four times 
as many colored as white people, is it 
reasonable to believe that Chalmers re- 
ceived a lawful majority of votes in 
that district 1 ? Suppose, by way of illus- 
tration, that we accept the rule which 
allows one voter for every five persons 
and apply it to the case in question; by 
that rule the white vote of the district 
would amount in round numbers to 7,600, 
and the colored vote in round numbers 
to 30,350, leaving a colored majority in 
the district of 22,750. 

But if the rule or' one to live be ob- 
jected to as in the interest of the col- 
ored people, let us take the rule of one 
to six, which, if partial to either white 
or colored, is certainly in favor of the 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



10 



former. Then, while the white vote 
would be about 6,300, the colored vote 
would be 25,250, or more than four to 
one. Now suppose, further, that one- 
tenth of the colored voters would, if 
left unintimidated, vote the Democratic 
ticket and that one-tenth of the whites 
would vote the Republican ticket. This 
would give an aggregate Republican 
vote of 23,357 and an aggregate Demo- 
cratic vote of 8,255, or, in other words, a 
fair Republican majority in the district 
under any reasonable circumstances of 
not less than 17,000, or about three to 
one. 

Conspiracy, Intimidation, and Ballot- 
Box stuffing- Heavy Bourbon Frauds 
by Ballot-Box Stuffing at other Polls. 

But there are charges of ballot-box 
stuffing at other polls; of false returns 
by the inspectors; of intimidation, and 
of conspiracy to stifle the voice of the 

At the Washington precinct, in Adams 
County, the county commissioners cer- 
tify that James R. Chalmers received 
264 votes and John R. Lynch received 

Charles W. Minor, the United States 
supervisor, certifies that Lynch re- 
ceive about 300 votes, and Chalmers not 
more than 57. The reason for this am- 
biguity he gives when on oath as a wit- 
ness. 

The law of Mississippi (Code, section 
136) requires the count to be made so 
soon as the polls are closed. "When 
the election snail be closed the inspec- 
tors shall publicly open the box and num- 
ber the ballots," &c. 

Mr. Minor shows that when this poll 
was closed, at 6 p. m., the inspectors 
opened the polls and counted three bal- 
lots ! The inspectors then adjourned 
the count until next morning, placed the 
box in the upper room of a private house, 
pretended to lock the door, and left it. 
During the night a light was seen in 
that room, and the next morning the 
count was completed with the result cer- 
tified to. Minor swears that about 362 
votes were cast ; that about 200 voters 
present and waiting to vote had not 
voted when the polls closed ; that there 
were about 600 registered voters in that 
district, of whom only about 80 were 
white men. 

The Democratic challengers asked voters a 
great many questions, some of which I remem- 
ber. Voters were asked where they lived, whose 
place they lived on, where they were staying, 
when they had registered, where they had reg- 
istered at, and so on. 

At Pine Ridge precinct, in Adams 
County, the returns give Lynch 138 and 
Chalmers 141, total 279. Alexander 
Johnson, the United States supervisor, 
certifies that Lynch received 229 votes 



| and Chalmers 50. He shows that when 
the polls closed at 6 p. m. the election 
inspectors refused to " publicly open the 
| box" and count the vote; but against 
I his wishes and protest the box was taken 
by Mr. E. B. Foster, one of the inspect- 
ors, to his private residence and kept 
all night, and the next morning the count 
was made. 

Webster Bowyer, one of the inspect- 
ors, testifies that the Republicans tried 
to vote open tickets — clearly their right 
it they so wished to do— but "the inspect- 
ors would not receive them in that way.'''' 
Why should they not? It was the vot- 
er's clear right to vote an open ticket. 
But if all Republicans did so, bystand- 
ing witnesses could swear from obser- 
vation how the vote stood. Forbidding 
the voting of an open ticket, agaiustlaw, 
reason, and common sense, was the com- 
plement and necessary counterpart of 
the unlawful refusal to obey the law 
and "publicly open the box" and count 
the vote when the poll was closed. 

In Robb and Stone precincts of Wash- 
ington County we have a repetition of 
the programme. The county commis- 
sioners give Lynch 176 votes and Chal- 
mers 295. 

T. B. Cooper, the United States super- 
visor, certifies that he ''actually saw 
and counted 297 straight Republican 
tickets put in the box, and was satisfied 
that there were a great many more." 
Sworn as a witness, he testifies : 

There were 471 ballots cast at that precinct, 
but there was not a fair count. In the first 
place the colored people, or, in other words, the 
Republicans voted an open ticket solidly Repub- 
lican from bottom to top, and I, to my personal 
knowledge, counted 297 out of that kind of votes 
which went into the box. I stood right there 
and saw them go in. 

At this precinct the inspectors refused 
at the close of the poll to "publicly 
open the box" and proceed with the 
count. They waited four hours, then 
opened the box and counted out 100 bal- 
lots, and then a Democratic inspector, 
in violation of law, took the box to his 
home, and the next day at 10 a. m. the 
box was again publicly opened, and Mr. 
Chalmers got 295, and Lynch only 176 
votes. 

The witness further swears : 

I voted a ticket that had Garfield for Presi- 
dent and Arthur for Vice President printed at 
the top, and General Chalmers' name for Con- 
gress at the bottom, and I, in the presence of 
j a great many persons scratched Mr. Chalmers' 
I name off and inserted the name of John R. 
j Lynch. 

| And the witness adds : " If that ticket 
I has ever been counted I never saw it, 

and I examined every ticket that was 
! counted." 
I Much of the evidence which proves 

the charge of conspiracy, of intimida- 
. tion, and ballot-box stuffing, not neces- 



20 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



sary, happily, in this case to show that 
Mr. Lynch and not Mr. Chalmers was 
honestly elected, are the copies of the 
reports of the United States supervisors 
of election. And here it is proper to in- 
quire whether such evidence can be 
looked to. And this must depend on th e 
question whether the county supervisors 
of election provided for in sections 
2011 and 2012 of the Revised Statutes of 
the United States are covered by section 
2018. 

Undisputed Facts in the case— Indecent 
Haste of the Mississippi Courts in 
their decisions upon the issues in- 
volved—House not bound by the de- 
cisions. 

But it was seriously contended that 
the House was concluded in this case, 
because the supreme court of Mississip- 
pi had decided the question ; that under 
the former rulings of the House and 
under the general rule that in constru- 
ing the local statutes of a State, or the 
constitution of a State, the Federal court 
and the House will follow the construc- 
tion given by the State tribunals. Be- 
fore discussing that legal proposition, 
let us give a plain, unvarnished history 
of the case, relied upon as it appears in 
the record. 

On the 2d of November, 1880, the elec- 
tion now being contested was held . On 
the 16th of November, 1880, Mr. Lynch 
filed his bill in the chancery court of 
Mississippi, asking that the secretary of 
state be enjoined from making a certifi- 
cate to the governor whereby the con- 
testee in this case should receive his 
prima facie title. That was denied on 
the 17th of November. On the 22d day 
of November, 1860 Mr. Lynch served 
upon the contestee a copy of his notice 
of contest. On the 9th of December, 
1880— nineteen or twenty days after- 
ward — the district attorney of Tunica 
County, one of the counties in the upper 
portion of the "Shoestring district," 
filed his petition in the circuit court of 
that county, asking that the commis- 
sioners of election be ordered to reas- 
semble and reject 506 ballots cast for 
Mr. Lynch in this case. 

Why? Because he said they had the 
same marks on them which are com- 
plained of in this contest. When that 
decision was rendered we, cannot ascer- 
tain. It has no date ; but that it was 
rendered soon after being commenced 
both by the circuit and supreme courts 
of Mississippi is matter of history, be- 
cause it was before the House at the as- 
sembling of Congress. 

Proceedings and decisions of courts 
characteristic Bourbon frauds, and 
null and void. 

There were certain jurisdictional 



questions necessary in that question 
which must appear before the court had 
jurisdiction. The court emarked, as it 
well might, that this ! louse was the 
proper tribunal to decide the question 
of those ballots. The court said : 



The House of Representatives of the Con- 
gress of the United States is the j udge of the 
elections, returns, and qualifications of its own 
members, and the courts of the State have 
nothing to do with it whatever. 



Why, then, did they proceed to con- 
strue the law. Because, as the eminent 
judge said, it had been suggested from 
the bar that some officers had been ar- 
rested, and the public was interested, 
and so the court would construe the law 
on the request of the attorney-general. 

It was done without argument. Th ere 
was not a brief filed on either side. 
There was no oral argument on either 
side, all of which is admitted and in the 
record. Lynch was no party j:o the 
record, and could not be heard. No 
man opposed to the theory as set out in 
the bill and admitted by the demurrer 
was heard. The court itself said it had 
no jurisdiction of the very question at 
issue. 

What was the real question in issue ? 
That on the 2d of November an election 
was held in that county for member of 
Congress, and that 506 marked ballots 
were deposited and counted for Lynch, 
in violation of law. They asked the 
court to compel the county commission- 
ers to reassemble and reject those votes. 
The court, in its opinion, stated three 
questions. 

The first question the court had to de- 
cide was by the section of the Mississippi 
law upon which it is claimed this action 
is predicated. Are there proper parties 
here to give us jurisdiction. If there 
were no proper parties that was the end 
of the case. 

It is a solecism for a court to say it 
would decide so and so, and this is the 
opinion of the court if it had a proper 
defendant, but the court finds the de- 
fendant is dead, and therefore the court 
does not do any thing but give an opin- 
ion of what the law would be if the de- 
fendant was not dead. That is what 
the court did here. It found these com- 
missioners had no legal existence ; that 
as officers they were fundi officio, and 
the relator could not proceed against 
them at all, and the court therefore said, 
we find the law to be so and so, but we 
have no proper parties here ; and that 
was the end of the case. 

The jurisdictional question decided 
the whole case, and whatever the judges 
said mav be treated as obiter dictum, as 
the opinion of learned gentlemen. It is 
not the opinion of the court of Missi- 
ssippi except as to that one point. 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



21 



Mississippi Bourbon courts overturn 
and reverse their own previous rul- 
ings and antagonize the universal 
doctrines of elections throughout the 
United States. 

The next question the supreme court 
of the State attempted to decide was 
that these dashes upon the ballots are 
such marks as to inaKe them obnoxious 
to the law. An enunciation of such a 
doctrine coming from a source less high 
than the supreme court of Mississippi 
would be considered as of little 
weight. The universal doctrine through- 
out the United States is opposed to this 
decision. The court cites no single au- 
thority in harmony with this opinion, 
it overturns and reverses the rule de- 
clared in 47 Mississippi, where the 
court says that all election laws as to 
the electors are to be construed liberally, 
and as to the omcersand their duties un- 
der them mandatory. The Supreme Court 
in the Oglesby case reverses that rule 
and says in effect that the law made for 
the protection of the voter shall be con- 
strued strictly, and if he does not com- 
ply with every thing which the letter of 
the law requires his ballot shall be void. 

That is a reversal of all the doctrines 
of elections known in the jurisprudence 
of this country. The furthest that a 
construction or this law can go should 
be to make the voter responsible for 
the intent in all cases where there is 
not a palpable violation of the law. That 
is as far as the courts go in civil actions. 

Now, it is competent for the legisla- 
ture to say that any distinguishing mark 
which is distinctly such shall be pro- 
hibited and the ballots containing it re- 
jected. But everybody knows what 
that means. Such laws are an inhibi- 
tion against spread-eagles, flags, por- 
traits, differently tinted paper, and the 
like, whereby the weak, unlettered, and 
ignorant may be detected in voting and 
the secrecy of the ballot destroyed. For 
the ourpose of preventing that and of 
making the ballot secret, thereby pro- 
tecting the weak, these sort of laws are 
enacted. 

It is on that principle alone that they 
can be maintained as reasonable regu- 
lations. But the supreme court of Mis- 
sissippi held that this law must be con- 
strued strictly against the voter ; and 
though a ticket contains what is confess- 



edly punctuation marks, yet they are 
of themselves such marks or devices as 
make them obnoxious to the law. That 
decision stands alone in the jurispru- 
dence of this country, and is subversive 
of every principle of right, honesty, jus- 
tice, and fair dealing in elections. 

Iiynch in printing his tickets consulted 
with Democratic Printers who had ta- 
ken legal advice — All he wanted was 
a ticket within the law— They agreed 
to print and defend his ticket against 
successful assaults. 

Mr. Lynch, fearing something of thi 8 
in the future, and knowing what he had 
to cope with, was particularly anxious 
that his ticket should be a lawful ticket, 
strongly witnin the law, and nothing 
else. He did not trust his own party 
friends, but went to Democrats who were 
personal friends, though political ene- 
mies, to printers who had taken legal 
advice, and he said to them, " All I want 
is a ticket within that law." They talked 
over the law together. He was assured 
by Mr. Wright, of the VicksbnrgIZerfl?fZ, 
and other gentlemen who printed his 
tickets, that tney would print them 
within that law and would defend them 
from successful assaults. They said 
that they would print a ticket which was 
not obnoxious to the law; said it 
not only then but when they were put 
on the stand afterward; and the ticket 
was put into their hands and they were 
asked, "Do you consider that a marked 
I ticket." And they answered, "No." 
' They testified as to the art and guild of 
| printing. They testified, " We say that 
■ is a plain ticket without marks." And 
J when Mr. Chalmers called Mr. Charles 
Winkley, he testified in effect the same 
thing; that they were plain tickets. 
When these experts were called all of 
them testified that they were plain tick- 
ets and were without distinguishing 
marks. That testimony was not con- 
tradicted. 

Chalmers' and Lynch's tickets .alike 
obnoxious to the charge of violating 
the law — Mississippi Court rejects 
Lynch's, but accepts Chalmers' 
ticket. 

But the Supreme Court of Mississippi 
threw out more than 2,000 of these votea 
given for Mr. Lynch: 



22 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



t. 



For President, 
JAMES A. GARFIELD. 

For Viee President, 
CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 



For electors for President and Vice 
President. 

Hon. William R. Spears, 

Hon. R. W. Flournoy, 

Dr. J. M. Bynum, 

Hon. J. T. Settle, 

Capt. M. K. Mister, Jr., 

Dr. R. H. Montgomery, 

Judge R. H. Cuny, 

Hon. Charles W. Clarke. 



For Member of the House of Bepresenta- 

tives from the 6th Congressional 

District 

JOHN R. LYNCH. 



because they say that the printers' 
dashes after the heading and between 
the names are distinguishing marks 
within the meaning of the statute ; but 
they have not thrown out any of these 
ballots, though the vote of a whole 
county was cast for Mr. Chalmers in this 
form : 



Democratic— Conservative 

TICKET! 

For President. 

Winfield Scott Hancock. 

For Vice- President, 

William H. English. 

For Electors for President and Vice- 
President, 

F. G. BARRY, 

C. P. NEILSON, 

C. B. MITCHELL, 

THOMAS SPIGHT, 

WILLIAM PRICE, 

WILLIAM H. LUSE, 

ROBERT N. MILLER, 

JOSEPH HIRSH. 

For member of the House of Repre- 
sentatives from the 6th Con- 
gressional District, 

JAMES R. CHALMERS. 



Look at the heading in capitals and 
the "screaming" exclamation point af- 
ter the word " TICKET." Which has 
the most distinguishing mark on it? 
Nevertheless the Supreme Court of Mis- 
sissippi held that the Lynch ticket was 
a false ticket. It did not hold that the 
Chalmers ticket was a false ticket, but 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES, 



the application of their principle would 
make it so. 

Decision* of State Courts have no Bind" 
ing effect upon the House in Elections 
of its own Members. 

Suppose the Legislature of Mississippi 
had passed a law that no ballot should 
be legal unless it had printed on its 
face a disavowal of the Government of 
the United States, would not that have 
been a thing for the House to disregard ? 
Suppose it had required to have printed 
on the face of the ballots some ridicu- 
lous or absurd or useless or unessential 
qualifications to the vote. These com- 
missioners might have thrown out bal- 
lots not so printed. This court might 
have declared that the statute was bind- 
ing upon them and sustained them in 
that act, but would that have any bind- 
ing force upon the House and deprive 
an honest voter of his right and an 
elected Representative of his seat ? It 
would have been a decision of the su- 
preme court of Mississippi, but it would 
not have been binding upon the House. 
Why? Because it does not strike at the 
only essential question which their State 
and its courts are authorized to control, 
namely, the qualifications of the lawful 
elector. 

Powers of the State over the Ballot and 
the Qualification of Voters — Unjust 
and Partisan Decision of the Missis- 
sippi Bourbon Courts. 

Two questions only remain, which 
may be objects of regulation by the 
State. First, the general regulations to 
preserve the secrecy of the ballot. If 
these be in their nature essential, which 
is not admitted, it cannot be denied that 
this particular object has been contem- 

§lated and provided for by the United 
tates itself, and that to that extent 
and for that purpose section 27 of the 
Revised Statutes is exclusive. But, sec- 
ond, the State may fix the qualifications 
of voters. It has done so, and if the 
action of the supreme court of the 
State has any foundation at all it must 
be put on tho ground that this ballot is 
a test of and fixes the qualifications of 
voters. 

Bourbon Election Commissioners Plead 
Guilty in Court. 

After the election of 1880, certain gen- 
tlemen were indicted for various elec- 
tion frauds in the United States court 
for the northern district of Mississippi. 
The county commissioners of the County 
of Coahoma, were M. B. Collins, W. W. 
Matthews, and Joseph JE. Monroe. In 
the record of the case of Buchanan vs. 
Manuing appears this tersebut most sug- 
gestive record : 

No. 1765. United States vs. M. B. Collins, War- 
ner Matthews, Joseph E. Monroe, coninxision- 
ers of election for Coahoma County. 



Charge— Failing to return vote of the county, 
returning the vote of one precinct as the entire 
vote of the county. 

Plea of guilty by each defendant. 

When charged with their malfeasance 
in open court these pure patriots plead 
guilty with wonderful alacrity. And we 
are asked to shut our eyes and accept as 
correct the statements of their open, 
gross, palpable, and self-confessed frauds. 

BEouse Seats Mr. L.ynch— Yeas and Xays. 

The SPEAKER. The question now 
! recurs on the second resolution reported 
| by the majority of the Committee on 
j Elections. The Clerk will read the res- 
! olution. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Resolved, That John R. Lynch was elected, and 
I is entitled to his seat in the Forty-seventh Con- 
gress from the Sixth district of Mississippi. 

I Mr. Atherton. Upon that resolution I 
I demand the yeas and nays. 

The yeas and nays were ordered. 
I The question was taken, and there 
! were— yeas 125, nays 83, not voting 83 ; 
i as follows : 

YEAS 125.— Aid rich, Anderson, Barr, Bayne, Bel- 
forl, Bingham, Bowman, Brewer. Briggs, Browne, 
I Buck, Burrows (Julius C.), Butterworth, Calkins, 
ICimp, Candler, Cannon, Carpenter, Caswell, 
, Chace, Cullen, Cutts, Darrell, Davis (George R.), 
1 Dawes, Deeiing, DeMotte, Dezendo-f, Dingley, 
Dunnell, Dwight, Ellis, Errett, Farwell (Sewell S), 
Fisher, Ford, Godshalk, Grout, Guenthi-r, Hall, 
Hammond (John), Harmer, Harris (Beoj. W.), Ha- 
zletine, Haskell, Hawk, Hazleton, Heilman, Hep- 
burn, Hill, Horr, Hubbs, Humphrey, Jacobs, 
Jadwin, Jones (George W.), Jones (Phineas,) Jor- 
\ gensen, Joyce, Kasson, Kelley, Lacey. Lewis, Lind- 
sey, Lord, Mason, McClure, McCoid, McKinley, 
Miles, Miller, Moore, Morey, Neale, Norcross, 
j O'Neill, Orth, Paeheco, Page, Parker. Paul, Pay- 
| son, Peelle, Pierce, Pettibone, Pound, Prescotl, Ran- 
! ney, Ray, Reed, Rice (Therou M.)j Rice (William 
\V.), Rich, Richardson (D. P.), Ritchie, Robeson, 
j Robinson (George D.), Robinson (James. S.), Rus- 
I sell. Seraiiton, Shallenberger, Sherwin, Skinner, 
Smith (Dietrich C), Spaulding, Spooner, Steele, 
Stone, Strait, Taylor, Thompson (Wm. G.), Town- 
send, (Amos.) Tyler, Updegraff (J. T.), Updegraff 
g'hooias), Urner, Valentine, Van Aernam, Van 
orn, Walker, Ward, Watson, Webber, White, 
! Williams (Chas. G.) 

NAYS 83. — Atherton, Atkins, Barber, Belmont, 
\ Blanehard, Bland, Blount, Buchanan, Cabel', Cald- 
well, Carlisle, Cassidy, Chapman, Clardy, Clark, Clem- 
ents, Cobb, Colerick. Converse, Cook, Cox (Samuel S.), 
Cox {William R.), Culberson, Davidson, Davis 
{Lowndes H), Dibble, Dowd, Evins, Finley, Forney, 
Garrison, Gunter, Ham.nond (V. J.), Hardenburgh, 
Hardy, Herbert, Hervdon, Hewitt {G. W.), Holman, 
House, Kenna, King, Klotz, Ladd, Latham, Manning, 
| Matson, McLane, McMdtin, Mills, Money, Morrison, 
Mosgrove, Moulton, Muldrow, Mutchler, Oates, Phister, 
Randall, Reagan, Robinson (Wm. E.), Ross, Scales, 
Shack'eford, Shelley, Singleton (Jas. W.), Singleton 
j Otho R.), Speer, Springer, Stockslager, Thompson (P.B.), 
I Townsend(R. W.), Tucker, Turner (Henry G.). Tur- 
\ ner (Oscar), Upson, Vance, Warner, Wellborn, Whit- 
thorne, Williams (Thomas), Wdlis, Wise (Geo. D.) 

NOT VOTING 83.— Aiken, Armfield, Beach, Beltz- 
hoover, Berry, Black, Blackburn, Bliss, Bragg, 
Brumm, Buckner, Burrows (Jos. H,), Campbell, Chal- 
mers, Cornell, Covington, Crapo, Cravens, Crowley, 
I Cart in, Deuster, Dibbrell, Dugro, Dunn, Ermentrout, 
: Farwell (Chas. B.), Flower, Frost, Fulkcr*on, Geddes, 
| George, Gibson, Harris (Henry. S), Hatch, Henderson, 



24 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



Hewitt {Abr am S.), Hiscock, Hoblitzdl, Hoge, Hooker, 
Houk, Hubbell, Hulchins, Jones (Jas. K.), Ketcham, 
Knott, Leedom, Lefevre, Marsh, Martin, McCook, 
McKenzie, Morse, Murch, Nolan, Phelps. Rice (Johu 
B.), Richardson (John S.), Robertson, Rosecrans, Ryan, 
Scoville, Shultz, Simonton, Smith (A. Herr), Smith 
(J. Hyatt), Sparks, Stephens, Talbott, Thomas, Till- 
man, Van Voorhis, Wadsworth, Wait, Washburne. 
West, Wheeler, Willits, Wilson, Wise {Morgan R), 
Wood {Benjamin), Wood (Walter A.), Young. 

So tlie resolution was adopted. 



PART II.. 

Reed's Amendment to the 
Rules of the House — IMs- 
grace f u 1 Filibustering 
and Revolutionary Expe- 
dients and Proceedings of 
the I>emocratie ^Leaders 
of the House to defeat all 
investigation into the 
facts or merits of the Con- 
tested Election Cases. 

Filibustering and Revolutionary Ex- 
pedients of Democratic Leaders to De- 
feat all investigation into the Merits 
of the Contested Election Cases— !>e- j 
hate Involved a Damaging Exposure 
of the vile Election Agencies by which 
a Solid South is maintained. 

On April 6, Mr. Calkins, of Ind., from 
the Committee on Elections, reported to 
the House the case of Lynch vs. Chal- 
mers, but every effort of the Republican 
majority to bring the House to a speedy 
decision of the case was systematically 
resisted by the Democratic minority 
through every form of dilatory motion, 
every device of filibustering known to 
parliamentary law, and that amid vio- 
lent and most disgraceful scenes of dis- 
order. The Democratic leaders, and 
most conspicuously ex-Speaker Randall, 
Jo. Blackburn, and Kenna of W. Va., 
rejected all offers of orderly debate, in 
the investigation of the facts or merits 
of the case preliminary to a final de- 
cision. Days and weeks were thus con- 
sumed. The Democratic leaders wanted 
no debate— no discussion of the facts em- 
braced in the case. Those they labored 
to suppress, to conceal from the country, 
because they involved a damaging ex- 
posure of the villainous election agen- 
cies by which a "Solid South ,r is 
maintained. They relied, for the sup- 
port of their members usurping seats in 
the House, wholly upon petty technical 
pleas, puerile legal qrribbles, and upon 
revolutionary expedients for delay, 

On April 6 the case was reported to 
the House, and not till April 20 was it 
decided by the seating of Mr. Lynch. 



Ex-Speaker Randall, Jo. Blackburn & 
Co. lead the Democratic Revolution- 
ists—Blackburn's Ruse in the form of 
Resolutions referring the Mackey vs. 
O'Connor case to a Special Committee 
with instructions to inquire into Pre- 
tended Forgeries of certain evidence. 

The Republican majority at once at- 
tempted to push the case of Mackey vs. 
O'Connor. It had been reported to the 
House on April 10, but at every step a 
decision, even a hearing of the case, 
was resisted by Democratic filibuster- 
ing, def eatirig all legislation. On May 
26, Mr. Blackburn, of Ky., "after con- 
ference with gentlemen of deserved 
prominence," and as a means of "unhing- 
ing the deadlock" which Democratic 
filibustering had created, proposed the 
following : 

Resolved, That a special committee of five 
members of the House of Representatives be 
appointed, who shall inquire into the authen- 
ticity and integrity of all affidavits, returns, and 
evidence of whatever character produced in the 
case of Mackey vs. O'Connor, and inquire into 
all alterations, destruction, loss, or mutilations 
of the original notes of the same, or of any tran- 
script of such notes ; and when, where, or by 
whom such alterations, destructions, loss, or 
mutilations were made or caused to be made. 

Resolved, That said committee shall have 
authority to visit such places and compel the 
production of such persons and papers as may 
he accessary to carry out the purpose of their 
ai»i»u.ntment f and may sit during the sessions 
of the House. 

Its consideration was objected to. 
Filibustering was instantly resumed by 
the Democratic leaders amid the most 
disgraceful disorder. 

Mr. Moore's (of Tennessee) Parliamen- 
tary Inquiry— Shall the ex-Confeder- 
ate Leaders in the House, the Benefi- 
ciaries of the Unexampled Generosity 
of the Nation, he Allowed to Block the 
Wheels of Legislation? 

Mr. Moore, of Tennessee, submitted 
the following parliamentary inquiry : 

Mr. MOORE, [reading.] I would respectfully 
inquire whether the minority of this House, 
most of whom were lately in rebellion against a 
Government whose unexampled generosity has 
enabled them, notwithstanding, to again enjoy 
every privilege vouchsafed to the most loyal of 
the land- 
Mr. TUCKER. That is not a parliamentary 
inquiry. 
Many Members. Order! Order! 
Mr. MOORE (continuing to read amid great 
confusion and calls for order)— have now the 
right to block the wheels of legislation because 
men of their party are occupying contested 
seats whose claims the majority desire to inves- 
tigate ? 



The wildest disorder ensued, excited 
chiefly by ex- Speaker Kandall in his 
abuse of Mr. Moore of Tennessee. The 
ex- Speaker made himself conspicuous 
by his violent championship of the right 
or the ex-rebels to defeat all legislation 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



25 



in their support of Confederate usurpers 
to seats in the House. Questions of or- 
der rapidly followed one another. 

Mr. Belford (of Colorado) denounces the 
Democratic Leaders as Revolution- 
ists, who by their Disgraceful Tactics 
Damage the Public Interests by De- 
feating- Legislation. 

Amid the confusion Mr. Belford, of 
Colorado, rose. The scene which en- 
sued is thus reported in the Congres- 
sional Record : 

Mr. BELFORD. I make a point of order that 
these Democratic revolutionists will not vote, 
and thev should not he allowed to talk. [Laugh- 
ter and applause on the Democratic side. J 

The SPEAKER. The Chair is ready to an- 
nounce the result of his opinion upon the f;'jes- 
tion of order when the House shall be in 01 Uer. 

Mr. BELFORD. I desire to he heard iu sup- 
port of my point of order. I want to discuss it. 
[Cries of " Order ! " " Order ! "J I say these gen- 
tlemen are not here. They hav?. -1 fused to vote. 
[Cries of " Louder ! " and " Ords- . ; "] They will 
not vote, and they cannot he heard upon this 
floor. They sit there like a set of mules with 
their haunches on the breech-strap, wagging 
their ears instead of answering to their names. 
[Laughter and loud cries of "Order!" and 
•• Louder! "] I say they are revolutionists, and 
the majority ol* the House should ignore them 
as revolutionists. 

This is not filibustering, but revolution. Fil- 
ibustering is indulged in to secure discussion. 
You refuse all discussion. Filibustering is in- 
dulged in to secure the right to offer amend- 
ments ; you desire to offer none. Filibustering 
is indulged in to secure the presence of a ma- 
jority. When that majority is here you will not 
allow the proceedings of the House to go for- 
ward. Therefore you are revolutionists, demand- 
ing rights to which no minority is entitled. 

Mr. Calkins's (of Indiana) Resolutions 
in response to Blackburn's Resolu- 
tions — The Committee on Elections 
had already exhausted inquiry into 
charge of Pretended Forgery of Testi- 
mony in the case— Full and Free Dis- 
cussion in open House needed to ar- 
rive at Merits or Facts in the Case. 

On May 27, Mr. Calkins, of Indiana, in 
response to Mr. Blackburn's proposition 
of the previous day, offered the follow- 
ing: 

A proposition having been submitted to the 
House by Mr. Blackburn, of Kentucky, on behalf 
of the minority, the majority submit the follow- 
ing: 

Whereas we are entirely satisfied that the al- 
legations made by Mr. Samuel Dibble as to forg- 
ery and falsified evidence have been fully, fairly, 
and exhaustively considered by the Committee 
on Elections, and arguments thereon have been 
fully heard ; and 

Whereas the cause now comes up for consid- 
eration iu the House, and there has been no dis- 
cussion in the House thereon, and as the House 
cannot vote intelligently with no guide except 
the mere allegations on one side on any prop- 
osition to refer to a new committee a question 
which has already been considered by the appro 
priate committee, but must have,the benefit of 
full and free discussion in order to enable the 
House to decide the question understandingly : 

Therefore, we submit the following proposi- 
tion : 



Resolved, That the House immediately pro- 
ceed to the consideration of the Mackey-Dibble 
case, and after six hours' discussion the House 
shall vote upon the question of recommittal by 
yea-and-nay vote; and if the House shall de- 
cide this in the negative, it shall thereupon con- 
tinue to consider the case until it be finished, 
without dilatory motions. 

Its consideration was objected to by 
ex-Speaker Randall as unsatisfactory. 

Mr. Reed, of Maine, moves Amendment 
to House Rules— The Majority shall 
Rule — Filibustering and Revolution 
to the Rear— Resolutions adopted. 

On the same day (May 27) Mr. Reed, 
of Maine, from the Committee on Rules, 
moved the following : 

The Committee on Rules report the following 
amendment to the rules, and recommend its 
passage : 

"Amend paragraph 8 of Rule XVI so as to 
read as follows : ' Pending a motion to suspend 
the rules, or on any question of consideration 
which may arise on a case involving the consti- 
tutional right to a seat, and pending the motion 
for the previous question, or after it shall have 
been ordered on any such case, the Speaker may 
entertain one motion to adjourn; but after the 
result thereon is announced he shall not enter- 
tain any other motion till the vote is taken on 
the pending question; and pending the consid- 
eration of such case only a motion to adjourn 
or to take a recess (but not both in succession) 
shall be in order, and such motions shall not be 
repeated without further intervening considera- 
tion of the case for at least one hour.' " 

Under the decision of Speaker Keifer 
it was, after much delay and many dis- 
orderly scenes, pushed (on May 28) to a 
vote and adopted : 

YEAS— Aldrich, Ander-on, Barr, Bayne, 
Belford, Bingham, Bowman, Brewer, Briggs, 
Browne, Brumm, Buck, Burrows, Julius C. ; Bur- 
rows, Joseph H.; Butterworth, Calkins, Camp, 
Campbell, Candler, Cannon, Carpenter, Caswell, 
Chace, Cornell, Crapo, Crowley, Cullen, Cutts, 
Darrell, Davis, George R. ; Dawes, Deering, De 
Motte, Dezendorf, Dingley, Dunnell, Dwight, Er- 
rett, Farwell, Charles B.; Farwell, Sewell S.; 
Fisher, Ford, George, Godshalk, Grout, Guenther, 
Hall, Hammond, John; Harmer, Harris, Benjamin 
VV, ; Haseltiue, Haskell, Hawk, Hazelton, Heil- 
man, Henderson, Hepburn, Hill, Hiscock, Horr, 
Houk, Hubbell, Hubbs, Humphrey, Jacobs, Jad- 
win, Jones, George W.; Jones, Phineas; Jorgensen, 
Joyce, Kasson, Kelley, Ketcham, Lacey, Lewis, 
Lord, Lynch, Marsh, Mason, McClure, McCoid, 
McCook, McKinley. Miles, Miller, Moore, Morey, 
Neal, Norcros<, O'Neill, Orth, Pacheco, Page, Par- 
ker, Paul, Payson, Peelie, Peirce, Pettibone, Pound, 
Prescott, Ranney, Ray, Reed, Rice, John B. ; Rice, 
Riee, Theron M.; William W. ; Rich, Richard- 
son, D. P.; Robeson, Robinson, George D.; Robin- 
son, James S. ; Russell, Ryan, Scranton, Shallen- 
berger, Sherwin, Shultz, Skinner, Smith, A. Herr; 
Smith, Dietrich C; Smith, J. Hyatt; Spaulding, 
Spooner, Steele, Stone, Strait, Taylor, Thomas, 
Thompson, William G. ; Townsend, Amos; Tyler, 
Updegraff, J. T.; Updegraff, Thomas; Urner, Van 
Aernam, Van Horn, Van Voorhis, Wadsworth, 
Wait, Walker, Ward, Washburn, Watson, Webber, 
West, White, Williams, Charles G.; Willits, Wood, 
Walter A —150. 

NAYS— Blount, Sardenbergh.—2. 

NOT VOTING— Aiken, Armfield, Alherton, Atkins, 
Barbour, Beach, Belmont, Beltzhoover, Berry, Black, 
Blackburn, Blanchard. Bland, Bliss, Bragg, Buch- 
anan, Buckner, Cabell, Caldwell, Carlisle, Cassidy, 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



Chapman, Clardy, Clark, Cements, Cobb, Colerick. 
Converse, Cook, Cox, Samuel S.; Cox, William R.; 
Covington, Cravens, Culberson, Curtin, Davidson, Da- 
vis, Lowndes H.; Deuster, Dibble, Dibrell, Dowel, Du- 
gro, Dunn, Ellis, Ermentrout, Evins, Finley, Flower, 
Forney, Frost, Fulkerson, Garrison, Geddes, Gibson, 
Gunler, Hammond, N. J.; Hardy, Harris, Henry S.; 
Hatch, Herbert, Herndon, Hewitt, Abram S.; Hewitt, 
G. W.; Hoblitzell, Hoge, Holman, Hooker, House, 
Hutchins, Jones, James K; Kenna, King, Klotz, 
Knott, Ladd, Latham, Leedom, Le Fevre, Lindsey, 
Manning, Martin, Matson, McKenzie, McLane, Mc- 
Millin, Mills, Money, Morrison, Morse, Mosgrove, 
Moidton, Muldrow, Murch, Mutchler, Nolan, Oates, 
Phelps, Phister, Randall, Reagan, Richardson, John 
S.; Ritchie, Robertson, Robinson, 'William E.; Rose- 
crans, Ross, Scales, Scoville, Shackelford, Shelley, Si- 
monton, Singleton, James W.; Singleton, Otho R.; 
Sparks, Speer, Springer, Stephens, Stockslager, Tal- 
bott, Thompson, P. B.; Tillman, Townshend, R. W.; 
Tucker, Turner, Henry G.; Turner, Oscar; Upson, 
Valentine, Vance, Warner, Wellborn, Wheeler, Whit- 
thorne, Williams, Thomas; Willis, Wilson, Wise, 
George D.; Wise, Morgan R.; Wood, Benjamin; 
Young.— 139. 

All voting aye were Republicans but 
Mr. Jones of Texas ; the two nays were 
Democrats, and all not voting but pres- 
ent in the House except three (Messrs. 
Lindsey, Ritchie, and Young who were 
not present) being Democrats. 

Sunset Cox's resolutions of Protest— 
Lying story of pretended forgeries- 
Denounces the Republican resolution 
to nave a full and free Discussion of 
the facts in open Mouse and before 
the country as unjustifiable, arbitrary 
and revolutionary. 

Whereupon Mr. S. S. Cox of N. Y., 
submitted the following paper : 

Whereas the minority of this House have 
heretofore, under the rules of the House, suc- 
cessfully resisted the efforts of the. majority to 
consider the case of Mackey vs. O'Connor, he- 
cause a proper hearing- has not heen granted to 
the contestee by the Committee on Elections, 
as to the allegations of forgery and fraud in the 
evidence submitted by the contestant ; and 

Whereas the minority have offered to proceed 
to the consideration of the case as soon as said 
allegations have been duly investigated ; and 

Whereas the majority, in order to prevent and 
avoid such an investigation, have proceeded to 
change the rules, in a manner not provided for 
in the rules by which alone they can or ought 
to he changed ; and 

Whereas the Speaker has made a ruling which 
justifies a proceeding unknown to the princi- 
ples of constitutional and parliamentary law 
and subversive of the rights of the minority : 
Therefore, 

The undersigned, representatives of the peo- 
ple, hereby protest against the proceedings of 
the majority and the rulings of the Speaker, as 
unjustifiable, arbitrary and revolutionary, and 
expressly designed to deprive the minority of 
that protection which has been established as 
one of the great muniments of the representa- 
tive system, by the patient and patriotic labors 
of the advocates of parliamentary privilege and 
civil liberty. 

(Signed) Abram S. Hewitt, Daniel Ermentrout, 
J. Fred. C. Talbott, Morgan R. Wise, L. C. Latham. 
Miles Ross, Henry S. Harris, H. A. Herbert, G. VV. 
Hewitt, R. P. Bland, Wm. Mutchler, John S. Bar- 
bour, A. A. Hardenbergh, Benton McMillin. Geo. 
W. Ladd, S. M. Stockslager, W. G. Colerick, James 
K. Jones, Chas. B. Simonton, W. R. Morrison, J. G. 
Carlisle, Albert S. Willis, W. H. Hatch, J. Phelps, 
P. Henry Dugro, Wm. R. Cox, Jas. W. Singleton, 



E. Jno. Ellis, R. Graham Frost, Van H. Manning, 
Geo. D. Wise, A. M. Scales, Jno. F. House, Phil. B 
Thompson, jr., Jno. B. Clark, jr., Olin Wellborn^ 
Robt. M. McLane, Jno. E. Kenna, Jonathan Sco- 
ville, John H. Evins, G. D. Tillman, J. S. Richard- 
son, D. Wyatt Aiken, Perry B-lmont, C. P. Perry 
N. C. Blanchard, Thos. Williams, H. D. Money 
Lewis Beach, Robt. Klotz, Geo. T. Garrison, Oscar 
Turner, John H. Reagan, Sam. J. Randall, S. S. 
Cox, Jo. C. S. Blackburn, Jordan E. Cravens, H. G. 
Turner, Gibson Atherton, Fetter S. Hoblitzell, Jos. 
Wheeler, Wm. S. Holman, J. R. Tucker, W. C. 
Whitthorne, Ben. Le Fevre, J. A. McKenzie, Wm. 
A. J. Sparks, Wm. C. Oates, C. M. Shelley, R. L. 
Gibson, Geo. c. Cabell, Geo. W. Cassidy, E. C. 
Phister, W. S. Rosecraus, James Mosgrove, J. Floyd 
t ng \\A, H- Bliss - J - J - Finley, J. Proctor Knott, 
Jno. W. Cadwell, Wm. M. Springer, R. H. M. Da- 
vidson, H. L. Muldrow, Geo. L. Converse, J. D. C. 
Atkins, S. W. Moulton, Geo. W. Geddes, G. H.Oury, 
Martin L. Clardy, M. E. Post, R. F. Armfield, Clem- 
ent Dowd, E. W. Robertson, R. Warner, K. G. 
Chapman, Hugh Buchan m, B. Wilson, T. M. Gun- 
ter, Philip Cook, Robt. B. Vance, J. C. Clements, 
Martin Maginnis, Gee. Anslie, E. L. Martin. 

The paper contains no single word of 
truth, as the following pages in the ex- 
position of; the Mackey vs. O'Connor 
case show, nor did Mr. Cox or any of its 
signers believe it does ; it was only of- 
fered as a part of the programme of 
fraud by which the Democratic leaders 
labored to maintain the Confederate 
usurpers in their seats. 

Ex-Speaker Randall's resolutions— The 
arch-filibuster and revolutionist in 
support of Confederate usurpers to 
seats in the House reinforces Cox's 
with similar resolutions— Charges of 
Forgery and Fraud in all the Flection 
cases a part of the Democratic pro- 
gramme. 

And ex- Speaker Randall offered the 
following : 

Resolved, That the report in the case pending 
be recommitted to the Committee on Elections 
with instructions to inquire into the authentic- 
ity and integrity of all depositions, returns, and 
evidence of whatever character produced in the 
case of Mackey vs. O'Connor, and inquire into 
all alterations, destruction, loss, or mutilations 
of the original notes of the same, or of any 
transcript of such notes ; and when, where, or 
by whom such alterations, destructions, loss, 
or mutilations were made or caused to he 
made. 

Resolved, That said committee shall have au- 
thority to visit such places and compel the pro- 
duction of such persons and papers as may be 
necessary to carry out the purpose of their ap- 
pointment, and may sit during the sessions of 
the House. 

These resolutions and protest were 
simply offered in pursuance of the Dem- 
ocratic programme in the contested 
election cases. In all of them the ut- 
terly baseless charges of forgery and 
fraud were to be urged by the Democ- 
racy, and all inquiry into the charges 
were to be resisted and if possible de- 
feated by filibustering and revolution. 
The majority nevertheless resolves to 

proceed with the Mackey vs. O'Connor 

case in open House. 

But the House on May 29, by a vote of 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



yeas 150, nays 1 (not voting 140— all Dem- 
ocrats), determined to proved to the 
consideration of the case of vlackey vs. 
O'Connor, contestants for a -^eat in the 
House from the Second Congressional 
district of South Carolina. 



PART IIL 
Mackey vs. O'Connor. 

History of the « ise. 

This case arose out of a contest from 
the second Congressional district of 
South Carolina .(comp rising the counties 
of Charleston, Clarend.m, and Orange- 
burg), and was referred in the House to 
the sub-committee of the Committee on 
Elections, composed ol Judge Waite of 
Connecticut, Judge Ritchie, of Ohio, 
Miller, of Pennsylvania, Mou^ton, of 
Illinois, and Davis, of Missouri. The 
parties were E. W. M. Mackey, contest- 
ant, and M. P, O'Connor, contestee. At 
the general election held the 2d day of 
November, 1880, these two parties were 
voted tor, and the State board of can- 
vassers of the State of South Carolina, 
acting upon the returns made to them 
by the county canvassers, declared Mr. 
O'Connor elected, and the certificate 
of election was accordingly issued to 
him. Mr. Mackey at once commenced 
a contest for the seat in the House, and 
the parties in due time proceeded to 
take the testimony. 

Election Machinery of South Carolina 

Law. 

By virtue of the laws of the State, the 
governor, prior to each general election, 
appoints three commissioners of elec- 
tions for each county; these appoint, for 
their respective counties, three man- 
agers for each election poll ; these man- 
agers conduct the election, count the 
ballots and make return to the commis- 
sioners of elections, who on the following 
Tuesday organize as a board of county 
canvassers, and canvass and state the 
votes. From their statement the State 
canvassers declare what persons have 
been elected. 

This is, in short, the recognized State 
machinery of elections. 

By virtue of the statutes of the United 
States the circuit courts appoint a com- 
missioner to be chief supervisor of elec- 
tions of the judicial district, to whom 
the law gives ample powers of super- 
vision to guard and scrutinize the pro- 
ceeding of the election. And for the 
purpose of protection of elections, when 
Representatives and Delegates in Con- 
gress are chosen a judge of the United 
States court has authority, upon proper 
application, to appoint and commission 
for each precinct two resident citizens, 



of different political parties, as super- 
visors to guard and scrutinize the pro- 
cedure of the voting and the canvassing- 
of the votes, and make a full report to 
the chief supervisor in the premises. 

The Conspiracy and its execution. 

Tbe proofs in the case cannot fail to 
convince any unprejudiced mind that 
the general procedure in carrying on 
the election was, on the part of the 
Democrats, the result of preparation, 
plotting, and conspiracy. The disre- 
gard of law and right evinced a desper- 
ate determination, and the care, ingen- 
uity, and variety of the methods used 
establish the fact that those who 
plotted and those who performed knew 
that they were in a minority. 

The premature opening of the polls ; 
the refusal to allow to the supervisors 
an inspection of the boxes ; the unusual 
places at which some polls were held ; 
the inconvenient and uncommon eleva- 
tion at which boxes were universally 
placed ; the suspiciously large apertures 
made in the boxes for receiving the bal- 
lots ; the working into the boxes of a 
few check-baek imitation tickets, to 
furnish a basis of false representation : 
the creation and general use of tissue 
ballots; the surcharging of the poll lists 
with names of men not voting to fit bal- 
lots never voted ; the painstaking 
searching out of Republican ballots 
honestly voted in withdrawing from the 
boxes to conform the number of ballots 
to the poll list and avoid the excess 
caused by stuffing; the rejection of 
boxes, returns, and votes upon petty 
and unfounded pretexts; the scheming 
to rob communities of their votes by un- 
founded allegations of intimidation ; the 
burglary of the box ; the stealing of re- 
turns and votes and the substitution of 
votes never polled ; the circular of Dem- 
ocratic State executive committee, 
seven days before election, directing as 
to the withdrawing of excess ballots 
and to destroy unseen ; the appointing 
by the Democratic county commission- 
ers of both managers for every poll in 
the three counties from members of the 
Democratic party, and the spiteful ha- 
tred shown before, at, and after the 
election toward United States marshals 
and supervisors, conclusively prove the 
existence of a conspiracy, involving a 
whole party, to control the results of 
the election at all hazards — a conspiracy 
cunning in its methods and unscrupu- 
lous and relentless in their execution. 

Mr. Dibble's Protests. 

Four difierent protests— (the first, on 
January 24, 1882; the second, on Feb- 
ruary 7, 1882 ; the third, on February 21, 
1882 ; and the fourth, on May 15, 1882)— 
were filed by Mr. Dibble with the Com- 
mittee on Elections, against the evi- 



28 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



dence offered by Mr. Mackey, Mr. Dib- 
ble alleging that it was fraudulent, or 
forged, and against the action asked for 
by Mr. Mackey, all of which, after able 
argument on both sides, were exhaus- 
tively considered, first, by a sub-com- 
mittee, to which they were referred, 
and afterwards, by the full committee, 
and decided in the light of the testimo- 
ny and undisputed facts against Mr. 
Dibble, the sitting member. 

How Mr. Dibble obtained a Certificate. 

After the testimony in chief on either 
side had been completed Mr. O'Connor, 
on April 26, 1881, died, and on the 23d of 
May, 1881, the governor of South Caro- 
lina, assuming that a vacancy was 
caused in the representation of the 
State by Mr. O'Connor's death, ordered a 
special election to fill the same. At that 
special election Mr. Dibble, the sitting 
member, was voted for and returned 
elected, receiving but 7,344 votes in a 
district that on November 2, 1880, Mr. 
O'Connor claimed gave him 17,569 votes. 
The Republicans of the district, claim- 
ing that Mr. Mackey, and not Mr. 
O'Connor, had been elected November 
2, 1880, and that the death of Mr. O'Con- 
nor had created no vacancy, refrained 
from voting at said special election. 

The Alleged Forgery of Evidence— 
Charge Unfounded— The Fullest and 
Most Complete Hearing given to Con- 
testee and Counsel, both by the Sub 
and Full Committee— Exhaustive Ar- 
guments in the Case. 

The Democracy pretended in the 
House that the committee never consid- 
ered this question of alleged forgery. 
The case was argued at length on March 
6, before the sub committee by counsel, 
for Mr. Dibble and Mr. Mackey relative 
to the alleged alterations and perversions 
of the record, and an adjournment was 
had until March 13. In the meantime 
the majority members of the sub-com- 
mittee with great care, examined not only 
the v e# parte affidavits submitted by Mr. 
Dibble and Mr. Mackey, but also thetesti- 
mony in the printed record which was 
alleged to be altered, in the light of the 
arguments of counsel on both sides, 
printed and oral; and on March 13, 
after a full argument by the several 
members of the sub-committee, at a 
meeting called expressly for that pur- 
pose, they decided to overrule the mo- 
tion of Mr. Dibble to strike out from 
the record all the depositions heretofore 
taken by Mr. Mackey ; and Mr. Dibble 
was further ordered forthwith to file 
his brief, the 20th March being agreed 
upon for final argument on the merits 
of the case. 

The sub-committee met on the 20th 
March, and during that day and the fol- 



lowing day heard able and exhaustive 
arguments, on the part of Mr. Dibble, by 
General H. E. Paine, one of the ablest 
lawyers on election cases that appeared 
before the Elections Committee during 
the session. 

They also heard arguments, on the 
part of Mr. Mackey, by Judge Shella- 
barger, a former member of the House 
and a distinguished lawyer. The brief 
submitted by General Paine is in print, 
and contains twenty- seven closely 

Erinted pages. That brief discusses, as 
e did orally, the disputed question 
which was in controversy relative to the 
alleged forgeries, changes, and altera 
tions of the testimony. 

The facts of the case, touching the 
election of Mr. Mackey or Mr. O'Connor 
were not controverted or argued by 
either Mr. Paine or Mr. Earle, who ap- 
peared before the sub -committee for Mr. 
Dibble, or by Mr. Dibble himself. No 
assertion or declaration was ever made 
to the committee by them, or any one of 
them, that, in accordance with the 
printed evidence in the case and the re- 
turns of the Democratic precinct man- 
agers, Mr. Mackey was not clearly 
elected. 

After argument a majority of the 
members of the sub -committee met, and 
after consultation and a careful review 
of the evidence submitted to them, and 
a full and careful consideration of the 
arguments of General Paine and Judge 
Shellabarger, they concluded that the 
charges of forgery and alteration of 
the record made by Mr. Dibble were 
utterly and wholly unfounded, and that 
the refutation of such charges by the 
evidence submitted by Mr. Mackey, ex 
parte, as was Mr. Dibble's, utterly dis- 

Eelled any doubt or shadow of doubt that 
ad been attempted to be cast upon it 
by Mr. Dibble ; and further, that the 
evidence of Mr. Mackey's election in ac- 
cordance with the returns made by the 
precinct managers of election on the 
night of election, was incontrovertible, 
and that these returns clearly showed 
that his majority was 879, counting it, and 
counting it only as it had been counted 
by these Democratic precinct managers, 
every one of whom, as far as appears, 
voted for Mr. O'Connor. The major- 
ity of the sub-committee agreed upon a 
report, and at a meeting of the full sub- 
committee, every member being pres- 
ent, the same was considered and 
adopted. 

On April 5 this report was submitted 
to the full committee and discussed. 
This report was discussed at length by 
the members of the sub-committee to 
the full committee. 

The same allegations of fraud, for- 
gery, and alteration of the record which 
had been originally raised by Mr. Dibble 
were again gone over in the full com- 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



29 



mittee. Judge Moulton and Mr. Davis, 
members of the sub -committee, both 
argued at length to the full committee 
that the report of the sub-committee 
should not be adopted ; and they gave 
as the only reason for refusing to adopt 
it that the printed record had been 
changed. 

Not only the members of the sub-com- 
mitte, but other members of the full 
committee, who in the meantime had ex- 
amined the subject to some extent, took 
Eart in that discussion. After an ex- 
austive argument and investigation on 
the part of the full committee, the report 
of the majority of the sub -commit tee 
was adopted by a vote of 11 to 3. By 
this vote of 11 to 3 the full committee 
again reaffirmed the declaration that 
the testimony in this case had not been 
forged and altered. 

Conclusive evidence in minority report 
that charge of forgery had been fully 
considered both by Sub and Fnll Com- 
mittees. 

On April 1C the case was reported to 
the House by Mr. Miller, of Pa. On the 
12th Mr. Moulton, on behalf of the min- 
ority of the full committee submitted a 
minority report in the case. That re- 
port recommended that the contest of 
Mackey vs. O'Connor be dismissed. Of 
that minority report of twenty-five 
printed pages, fourteen are taken up with 
the effort to demonstrate that the testi- 
mony had been altered and changed ; 
establishing again beyond any doubt 
that this question which had been 
mooted had not only been examined 
fully by the sub -committee, but also by 
the full committee and passed on by 
them. 

High character of Counsel in the case— 
The Testimony and the Agents in and 
the manner of taking and certifying 
the testimony. 

Mr. O'Connor had able counsel. Chief 
among them was Mr. Dibble, the sit- 
ting member. There was Mr. Brown- 
ing, Mr. Barron, Mr. Whalen, Mr. 
Chisolin, and Mr. Izlar. The testimony 
taken comprises a volume of 766 pages. 
The contestant's (Mackey's, testimony 
under the se;;l of Mr. Hogarth, a notary 
as well as a stenographer, reached the 
House of Representatives, at Washing- 
ton, in an envelope addressed to its clerk. 
No witness was examined, but who was 
cross-examined by counsel. Indeed, 
the work was thoroughly done. 

The contestee's (O'Connor) testimony 
reached the House in a similar manner 
certified by the magistrate, and verified 
or authenticated in the same way. 

After the contestee's testimony was 
taken by the stenographer and written 
out in the imperfect way in which sten- 



ographers often write dut testimonj r , it 
was put into the hands of O'Connor's 
own counsel, Mr. Chisolm;and he, finding 
there were some verbal errors— and they 
almost always occur even among the best 
stenographers— verbal errors and omis- 
sions, Mr. Chisolm called in Mr. O'Con- 
nor's son and directed him to sit down 
with Mr. Mackey and correct these er- 
rors whatever they were ; and they did 
do so, and not one of them substantially 
changes the sense or meaning of any- 
thing. They are made on the written 
translation or transcript of the steno- 
graphic characters, and everything 
which was done appears on the depo- 
sitions sent to the House. 

And the affidayit of Mr. O'Connor says 
that there was not a thing done nor a 
change made except by the mutual 
agreement of the parties; and that 
he acted by Chisolm's advice, direction, 
and authority in all he did. This affi- 
davit was produced and filed by Mr. 
Dibble himself. 

This testimony of the contestee went 
into the hands of Mr. Chisolm, counsel 
of the contestee, according to the gen- 
ral custom in such cases and by mutual 
arrangement the transcript of the sten- 
ographer's notes, not the original notes. 
He took them, and went into an examina- 
tion of the transcript to see whether it 
was correct. 

Mr. Mackey never undertook alone to 
make even a suggestion that anything 
was wrongly written down or tran- 
scribed in the testimony of the contes- 
tee. But Mr. Chisolm directed the son 
of Mr. O'Connor, a lawyer, to sit down 
and examine if there were errorsin tran- 
scribing or otherwise in contestee's evi- 
dence. And Mr. O'Connor, the son, a 
lawyer, a gentleman, and a man of truth, 
says in his testimony : "With the appro- 
| bation of Mr. Robert Chisolm aud by his 
request deponent assisted Mr. Mackey in 
making such corrections as we both con- 
I sidered fit and proper ; and sometimes 
; those corrections were made by the one 
and again by the other. In no instance 
whatever was any correction made with- 
out the consent of both the deponent 
' and contestant." 

I Let it be remembered that Mr. Dibble 
! furnished this affidavit, and that conse- 
quently all the charges of forgery by 
him and the Democracy in the case were 
uttered with this proof to the contrary 
before them. 

Dibble's Sweeping Impeachment of his 
own witnesses and counsel— Charges 
that his own Agents Committed the 
Forgery in collusion with the Con- 
testant. 

Nevertheless, Mr. Dibble, standing on 
O'Connor's rights, attempted to impeach 
his own stenographer, his own notary, 
andO'Connor'sson, a lawyer and an hon- 



so 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



orable man, and pretended that the son 
of Mr. O'Connor and Mr. Mackey com- 
mitted a forgery. 

To prove this sweeping charge the 
only thing relied on (for there was noth- 
ing else) was the fact that Mr. O'Con- 
nor's counsel and Mr. Mackey, taking the 
transcript of some stenographic notes, 
interlineations and verbal changes, not 
one of which changes the sense or mean- 
ing, but only corrects verbal or gram- 
matical errors. 

What next? This manuscript was 
sent back to the stenographer, to the 
notary under whose authority the notes 
were taken, and who was to become re- 
sponsible for it when he affixed his jurat 
and certificate ; and the notary and the 
stenographer adopted everything there 
as right and correct, and then sent it to 
the House under the notarial seal. 

Thus Mr. Dibble, supported by the 
Democracy, accused a man of tamper- 
ing with evidence, of fraudulently and 
corruptly altering it, when every alter- 
ation or change was made with a full 
understanding, in the open light of day, 
by the consent and with the concurrence 
of both parties, and these alterations or 
changes were adopted by the magis- 
trate who was responsible for them, and 
who transmitted the testimony to the 
House under his own certificate and of- 
ficial seal. By this charge Mr. Dibble 
impeached his own magistrate, young 
O'Connor, the son of the deceased prima 
facie member, Mr. Chisolm himself, and 
attempted to cast an unjust imputation 
upon Mr. Mackey joiutly with them. 

Contemptible Character of Alleged For. 
geries of Testimony— Pretended Alter, 
ations wholly Immaterial in Purport. 

Mr. Ranney, in the House, in describ- 
ing these pretended forgeries, said: 

I have here the sheets of testimony 
with every single alteration or erasure 
appearing to be made in that testimony, 
so far as I have been able to find. It 
is said that in the testimony there have 
been made interlineations and erasures. 
Now, if any man can find any one here 
that is material or that amounts to any- 
thing, his eyes are better than mine. I 
find here one place where the word "of 1 
was written twice, and one of these 
words is scratched out. 

Mr. EEED. That is awful. [Laugh- 
ter.] 

Mr. RANNEY. And in another place 
the word "some" is written twice and 
one of those is scratched out. 

Mr. DINGLEY. That is a corrupt al- 
teration. 

Mr. RANNEY. I find in one of the 
depositions that it first read "I could 
read the names on the ticket." The 
word "could" is scratched out, so that 
it is left "I read the names on the tick- 
et," What an enormous forgery that is ! 



Here is another case, where it is writ- 
ten originally "Joseph Spratt, Jr.," and 
that is erased and is written "Joseph 
Sprott, ir." 

Mr. REED. What a horrible thing 
that is. [Laughter.] 

Mr. RANNEY. Yes, awful ; on an- 
other page they have the word "exhibit" 
written twice, and they scratched out 
one of them. In another sentence where 
it was written "he arrived there after I 
did, and upon being told"— the word 
"upon" is written twice, and one of 
those, words is scratched out. In an- 
other place it was written "it used to be 
held at Carpenter's store." The word 
"store" is scratched out and "hotel" in- 
serted. And in another place it was 
written "private house;" that is scratch- 
ed out and it has changed to "out- 
house." 

Mr. MOULTON. What testimony is 
the gentleman commenting upon ¥ We 
cannot hear him. 

Mr. RANNEY. Here, is one where the 
initials of the name were wrong, an "M" 
looking originally something like an 
"H," and it was made "H." In' another 
"Siniins" is made "Sommes." In an- 
other place there is the word "Jeff" 
written ; it is made to read "Jack." In 
another place it was written " witness 
produced on behalf of E. W. M. Mackey, 
contestant." "E. W. M. Mackey" is 
scratched out, and the word "contest- 
ant" left. That would save some ex- 
pense in printing merely. 

In another place the word "some" is put 
in twice and one " some " is scratched 
out. In another place "Carpetsville" is 
scratched out and " Corbettsville " in- 
serted. In another place is a word 
which looks to me something like 
"around;" in the sentence "were any of 
them around." That is changed to 
"armed;" they were talking about 
whether there were any persons there 
armed, and that is the right word. In 
another place " Walker" is changed to 
"Hegler," which is the correct name. 
They did not always get the names right. 
In another place it was written " Hardy 
Rough ;" it should be and was made 
" Rugg ;" a mistake made in taking it 
down by sound. 

Mr. MOULTON. What is the gentle- 
man reading from? 

Mr. RANNEY. I am reading from the 
original testimony of the contestant. I 
have gone over it and selected every thing 
in it in the way of erasure or change that 
I could find. In another place there is 
a word that is something like "stettler- 
ing" that is stricken out and "standing" 
put in. I am taking up the time in these 
matters. 

Many Members. " Go on ! " " Go 
on!" 

Mr. RANNEY. In another case there 
is written "cast for the Republican Con- 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



31 



pressman." The words "candidate for" 
sre interlined. 

Mr. KEED. That is perfectly awful ! 
[Laughter.] 

Mr. RANNEY. Here conies the great 
alteration that is complaiued of in Mr. 
Dibble's affidavit already referred to. 
There are two lines and two words eras- 
ed. What is the evidence about it ? One 
of the witnesses swears that he went 
before the magistrate to sign his depo- 
sition aud he told him that he had got 
it wrong, and he insisted on its being 
changed, which was done. In his affi- 
davit here, got to meet the charge, the 
witness swears that he has examined 
the printed copy of his testimony, and 
that it is right as printed. It is not of a 
feather's weight, and did not amount to 
anything, as already shown. It has 
nothing to do with the case reported. Now 
that is done before the magistrate. It 
is sanctioned by the magistrate and de- 
manded by the witness himself. Now 
witnesses have rights. Stenographers 
do not always get it just right unless 
they are very good ones, and they some- 
times commit errors in transcribing. A 
witness has a right to insist when any- 
thing Is wrong that it shall be changed. 
My rule is that if there is any substan- 
tial change made that it shall be made 
at the end. 

Here is another one of these changes. 
The manuscript now reads "I had to do 
so by holding the arm of the manager." 
Before the word " manipulation," it read 
"I had to do so, I could only detect them 
by holding the arm of the manager." 
The effect of the change is simply to 
show the exact meaning, and the error 
in taking or transcribing the note was 
apparent, and was properly corrected 
on the responsibility of the notary. 

Here is another of the changes. The 
change of a name — William Poole, a 
Democrat, and nobody denies that it is 
right as it stands now. Here is another 
in the phrase, "the Republican votes 
and tickets," the words " votes and" are 
scratched out, leaving the words "Re- 
publican tickets." 

Another instance is the interlineation 
of the words "in violation of law." I 
do not know by whom. It is entirely 
immaterial in effect. The presumption 
is that the insertion was properly made 
as having first been omitted by mistake. 
In every event these words are entirely 
immaterial and not of the slightest con- 
sequence. 

In another case there are the words 
"objection same as before." It is not 
in the testimony, but the noting of an 
objection by the magistrate, and is of 
no consequence any way. Those are all 
the alterations which I can find; and I 
went over the matter this morning again 
personally. Gentlemen can see and ex- 
amine the sheets for themselves, and I 



challenge the closest scrutiny of all this 
manuscript testimony. I wish the House 
to see that the charge made is false in 
general and false in detail, and that the 
committee have investigated, as bound 
to do ; and to make good my assertion 
to the gentleman from Maryland, [Mr. 
McLane,] who sought to make a per- 
sonal matter of this thing, although he 
had no personal knowledge on the sub- 
ject, and when I had examined the 
matter. If there is in this whole testi- 
mony a material alteration or anything 
that looks like a falsification I have been 
unable to find it, and would thank anv 
gentleman to point out anything which 
they have found and which has not 
been mentioned by me. 

The charge of Forgery itself a Fraud.— 
Only one Deposition of a Hundred 
charged with a Taint of Forgery.— The 
truth of that verified by 3f ackey by 
the Affidavit* of all the Witnesses. 

But the tampering with a deposition 
will only vitiate and justify the exclu- 
sion of that one. It w T ill not and cannot 
be made to affect a hundred others not 
subject to the charge. It was not pre- 
tended that any other affidavit was so 
tainted. No one of Mr. O'Connor's five 
counsel named another affidavit as liable 
to the charge of forgery, nor a sentence 
or a word of any other deposition. And 
had the affidavit charged as forged been 
stricken from the record of testimony, 
it would not have affected the case at 
all. Other affidavits, unimpeached and 
unimpeachable, fully verified every 
statement in the pretended forged tes- 
timony. But Mr. Dibble had no case. 
The Democracy were fully aware of that 
and were driven to vile invention to 
justify their outrageous filibustering 
and revolutionary tactics in the House 
in support of the usurper Dibble. They 
therefore resorted to a prolonged cry of 
forgery, extending through many days, 
and even weeks, and that with the fur- 
ther hope of creating in the country a 
belief that all the testimony in the case 
was forged or tainted with forgery — that 
the Bepublicans were guilty of a wicked 
outrage by attempting to seat Mackey 
through forgery in support of fraud. 

Mackey promptly disposes of the charge 
of Forgery— He verifies the genuine- 
nessof the assailed Affidavit. 

But the contestant (Mackey) met this 

charge and cry in a manly and fearless 

manner. Indeed, every charge of this 

| kind, general as it was, received refu- 

j tation in committee at the hands of the 

: contestant. He expressed no fears from 

an investigation, but courted it. He in- 

structed Mr. Hogarth, the stenogra- 

, pher and notary, who took and certified 

j to the depositions under his official seal, 



32 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



to compare the printed record evidence 
of every material deposition with his 
original stenographic notes, and they 
were verified and certified to anew in a 
sworn affidavit. He compared and veri- 
fied every deposition covering the 
proof made as to the eleven precincts in 
dispute and the Democratic returns 
from which contestant is shown to be 
elected; and the affidavit was before 
the committee and the House. 

Not only that, but further, contestant 
obtained and produced before the com- 
mittee and the House the affidavits of 
all or substantially all the witnesses 
themselves, verifying the testimony 
printed as coming from them. 

Infamous character of the only witness 
to the charg-e of Forgery. 

And who was the man, and what his 
character, on whose testimony was 
based this charge of forgery? His name 
was 0. Smith. He was an old acquain- 
tance of Mr. Dibble's, who brought him 
into this case. Smith at one time was 
a member of the Senate of South Caro- 
lina; and as a member of the South 
Carolina general assembly at its regular 
session of 1877-78, Mr. Dibble investi- 
gated some corrupt transactions in 
which Smith was implicated. In his re- 
port from the joint investigating com- 
mittee upon these transactions Mr. Dib- 
gle denounces Smith as corrupt and 
guilty of receiving bribes. In one in- 
stance when a Senator of South Caro- 
lina as receiving $1,000 ; in another in- 
stance as receiving a bribe of $500; in 
another, one of $300, and in another, one 
of $100. He apparently could be bought 
for any sum for any job. We c[uote 
from Mr. Dibble's report his estimate 
of his own witness : 

Your committee feel assured that no lan- 
guage by way of comment would add force to 
the simple statement of facts attending this era 
of revelry, embracing peculation, and embez- 
zlement, and robberies of a character hitherto 
unknown in South Carolina. The perpetrators 
are covered with infamy and disgrace, and 
should be pursued during their natural lives 
with the sword of justice hanging by a thread 
over their heads. 

Hence, when Mr. Dibble wanted a 
swift and pliant witness he knew ex- 
actly where to find him. 

Republican and Democratic Tickets 
Voted in this District^-Their Form 
and Character— Democratic Tickets 
Travelled Always in Pairs— The " JAt- 
tle Joker " or Famous Tissue Ballot. 

This ticket is printed on coarse paper, 
the face white, the back checked in 
white, red, and green. 

There is not a man with eyes who 
could not distinguish this ticket as far 
as he could see it. 



UNION REPUBLICAN TICKET 



For President, 

JAMES A. GARFIELD. 

For Vice-President, 

CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 

For Presidential Electors, 

At Large— THOMAS B. JOHNSON. 

At Large— A. S. WALLACE. 

First District— WILLIAM A. HAYNE. 
Second District— E. A. WEBSTER. 
Third District— THOMAS N. TOLBEKT. 
Fourth District— WILSON COOK. 
Fifth District — B. P. CHATFIELD. 

For 47th Congress— Second District, 
EDMUND W. M. MACKEY. 

For Solicitor— First Circuit, 
M. E. HUTCHINSON. 

For Sheriff, 
LOUIS DUNNEMAN. 

For Clerk of Court, 
JOHN H. OSTENDORF. 

For Coroner. 
WILLIAM H. THOMPSON, 

For Judge of Probate. 
WARREN R. MARSHALL. 

For School Commissioner. 
SAMUEL R. COX. 

For County Commissioners. 

GARRET BURNS. 

R. K. WASHINGTON. 

A. E. PHILIPPY. 

For Senator, 
JAMES B. CAMPBELL. 

For House of Representatives. 

ANDREW SIMONDS. 
THOS. A. MCLEAN. 
WILLIAM J. GAYER. 
CHARLES H. VANDERHORST. 
C. G. MEMMINGER. 
DANIEL T. MIDDLETON. 
JAMES BRENNAN. 
FRANK LADSON. 
ROBERT W. BROWN. 
LOUIS SEEL. SB. 
MOSES CARTER. 
WM. G. PINCKNEY. 
THOS. OSBORN. 
JAMES HUTCHINSON. 
SMART WRIGHT 
STEPNEY W. LADSON. 
JAMES SINGLETON. 

That was the Republican ticket that 
was voted. The Democratic ticket 
voted in that box was the following: 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



33 



Democratic Ticket-1880 
Charleston County 

Electors at Large, 
John L. Manning. 
William Elliott. 
District Electors, 
ist— E. W. Moise. 
2d — Samuel Dibble. 
3d — J. S. Murray. 
4th — Cadwallader Jones. 
5th— G. W. Croft. 
Gorernor, 
Johnson Hagood. 
Lieutenant-Governor, 

J. D. Kennedy. 
Comptroller*GeneraI, 

J. C. Coit. 
Secretary of State, 

R. M. Sims. 

Attorney-General, 

Leroy F. You mans. 

Superintendent of Education, 

Hugh S. Thompson. 

Adjutant k In«pector>General, 

Arthur M. Manigault, 

State Treasurer, 

John Peter Richardson. 

Congress— Second District, 

M. P. O'Connor. 

Solicitor-First Circuit, 

W. St. Julien Jervey. 

Senator, 
Augustine T. Smythe. 
Bepreaentatires, 
C. H. Simon ton. 
J. B. E. Sloan. 
James Simons. 
C. P. Richardson. 
John Jenkins. 
H. L. P. Bolger. 
E. McCrady, Jr. 
A. S. J. Perry. 
John F. Ficken. 
J. C. McKewn. 
E. J. Dennis. 
W. T. W. Baker. 
John H. Devereux. 
G. W. Egan. 
George M. Mears. 
Joseph Parker. 
Paul B. Drayton. 
Clerk of Court, 
W. W. Sale. 
Sheriff, 
Hugh Ferguson. 
Probate Judge, 
William E. Vincent. 
School Commissioner, 
Rev. P. F. Stevens. 

Coroner, 
John P. DeVeaux. 
County Commissioners, 
T. A. Huguenin. 
Philip Fogarty. 
William H. Cain. 

Constitutional Amendment relating 
to Homestead— Yea. 



This ticket is printed on thin, light- 
blue tissue paper. 

That is the "little joker" or the tis- 
sue ballot which does duty in South Car- 
olina. They have a wonderful way 
down there of always having two Dem- 
ocratic tickets, one narrower than the 
other. 

These tickets were so folded, one 
within the other, that a by-stander 
could not tell that there were more than 
one ticket. 

It is in evidence that at some polls as 
many as forty of these little fellows 
were in the outside jacket. When the 
managers come to draw out the tickets, 
in order that every one them may count, 
they stir them up and then these inside 
tickets would fall out. 

Here are two more tickets : 



For Representatiye to Congress 



Second Congressional District, 
(to fill vacanct,) 

SAMUEL DIBBLE. 



For RepmtatiTe ii Congress, 

Second Congressional District, (to 

eill vacancy) 

SAMUEL DIBBLE. 



They all travel in pairs— -these South 
Carolina tickets. There is always a 
little one and then a big one to cover it. 

Characteristic Bourbon Frauds at Hope 
Engine-House Poll— Republicans Vote 
open Tickets — Testimony as to the 
Facts. 

At Hope Engine-house poll in the city 
of Charleston, the poll-list kept by the 
Democratic managers of election, the 
list kept by the Democratic United 
States supervisor, and the list kept by 
the Republican United States supervisor 
substantially agreed. One of them stated 
that 1,218 men had voted, and two of 
them stated that 1,214 men had voted— 
a difference of only four votes in a poll 
of either 1,218 or 1,214. 



34 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



No person had access to or-control of 
the ballot-box at that poll during the 
day of election except the Democratic 
managers. At the close of the poll, and 
when the ballots were counted, it was 
found that there were 2,289 ballots in 
the box, or 1,071 more ballots than there 
were voters all told. 

It was aiso found that there were 1,683 
Democratic ballots in that box— 465 more 
Democratic ballots than there were vo- 
ters all told, Kepublican and Demo- 
cratic. It was in evidence in this case, 
the proof being put in by Mr. Dibble 
himself, assisting the attorney of Mr. 
O'Connor in Orangeburg County, that 
the Eepublican tickets, owing to the pe- 
culiar appearance of the back of the 
ticket, which resembles a playing card, 
could be recognized across the street. 

The Republican supervisor of Hope 
Engine-house poll states that for much 
of the day he was in plain view of the 
voters at that poll, and that he saw 
many of the Republicans— at least two 
hundred — came up to the ballot-box and 
cast such a ballot as above shown ; that 
they came up before the managers with 
their ticket open by a preconcerted ar- 
rangement, and upon the request of Mr. 
Mackey, that he might be enabled after 
the election was over to prove just how 
many ballots were cast; that in the 
presence of the Democratic manager 
they folded up the tickets that he might 
see that each Republican voter voted 
but one ticket. This Republican super- 
visor says there were 597 of these tickets 
put in the box that day by 597 Republi- 
cans at that precinct. This would leave 
but 617 Democratic tickets which should 
have been cast there on that day. But 
the evidence shows that, instead of the 
Democrats having 617 ballots in the box 
at the close of the poll, they had 1,683. 

Bourbon process for purifying: ballot- 
box of Fraud — Blindfolded Bourbon 
draws all Bepublican ballots from box 
—Distinguished them by their feel as 
easily as he would a piece of iro n. 

In accordance with the law of South 
Carolina when an excess of ballots is 
found in the box, it is the duty of one 
of the managers to draw out such ex- 
cess. One of them was accordingly 
blindfolded; and in drawing out tins 
excess of 1,071 he drew out every Re- 
publican ballot but five. And when Mr. 
O'Connor placed that man upon the 
stand he had the brazen impudence to 
swear that he felt for the Republican 
tickets and that the reason those five 
was not drawn out was because he could 
not find them. One witnesses which 
Mr. O'Connor called said he could tell 
them by their feel as easily as he could 
tell a piece of sheet-iron from these 
tissue ballots. 



Fraudulent result at Hope Engine- 
house poll after Purification of Bal- 
lot-box. 

At the close of this purification the 
Democratic managers counted the vote, 
1,200 for O'Connor, and gave to Mac- 
key 5. The county canvassers, all of 
them Democrats, counted it in the same 
way, 1,200 to 5. And it went up to the 
State board of canvassers, all of whom 
were Democrats, and they again counted 
it 1,200 for O'Connor and 5 for Mackey. 
And it came to the House Committee on 
Elections, and not desiring to count the 
vote other than the precinct managers 
had counted it, notwithstanding this 
atrocious villainy, notwithstanding the 
magnificent fraud, notwithstanding this 
unclothed perjury, the committee count- 
ed it 1,200 to 5. Because the committee 
would not grant his memorial, because 
they thought that was the sheerest non- 
sense in the world, the Democrats filibus- 
tered for eight days. The committee 
counted it as the Democrats counted it, 
and then the Democratic minority, the 
Democratic leaders, Randall and Hewitt 
and Blackburn, resorted to every fili- 
bustering expedient to defeat the House 
in unseating Dibble. 

Infamous Bourbon frauds at Haut Gap 
precinct— Republicans protest — Coun . 
ty canvassers and court refuse to cor- 
rect Fraudulent count— State Board 
orders correction as to count for State 
offif-rs but leaves Fraudulent count 
f - - congress intact— House Committee 
counted it as Democratic precinct 
managers counted it. 

The undisputed evidence in the case 
shows beyond all doubt or controversy 
that the vote cast at Haut Gap was : 

Mackey 1,037 

O'Connor 46 

Majority for Mackey 991 

After the polls had been closed it was 
found that tnere had not been a single 
ballot voted in excess of the number of 
persons who had voted. After the bal- 
lots had been counted and put back in 
the box with the poll-lists and returns 
it was sealed up and delivered to J. H. 
Wilson, one of the Democratic precinct 
managers, who delivered it to the clerk 
of the county commissioners of election. 
The box remained in the possession of 
the county commissioners of election, 
who are also the county canvassers of 
election, until opened to be counted, and 
when so opened and counted by them it 
was found to result as follows : 

Mackey 19 

O'Connor 1,052 

Majority for O'Connor 1,033 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES, 



35 



At once the attention of the county 
canvassers was called to the fraud which 
had been perpetrated, but they refused 
to either hear evidence or correct it. A 
writ of mandamus was at once sued out 
against the managers at Haut Gap pre- 
cinct to compel them to make a return 
of the election at that poll. To that 
writ tliev made answer that they had 
already clone so. Upon this issue was 
joined, and testimony taken by the judge 
who issued the writ— himself a Demo- 
crat—and after hearing he rendered the 
following decision : 

1. That the ballots cast at the election, together 
with a statement of the result and the poll list 
at the close of the canvass hy the managers, 
were put in the box, the box covered with paper 
and sealed with wax and delivered to J. H. 
Wilson, one of the managers, to be delivered by 
him to the county canvassers. 

2. That J. H. Wilson brought the box with the 
«eals unbroken and delivered it to the county 
canvassers on the 3d day of November stating 
at the time of delivery the contents of the box. 

3. That at the time of the delivery of the box 
to the county canvassers it contained the ballots 
•cast at the election, a statement of the election 
by the managers, and a poll list, and that the 
violation of the box was subsequent to its de- 
livery by Wilson. 

The managers having done that which it is 
sought to compel them to do, it is ordered that 
the rule be discharged. 

On this the Republican candidates car- 
ried the matter to the State board of 
canvassers, and there the attorney for 
the Republican candidates and the 
attorneys for the Democratic candi- 
dates made an agreement. It states 
that the whole number of votes 
cast at Haut Gap precinct and counted 
and returned by the managers thereat 
was 1,083, of which number the Repub- 
lican candidates received 1,037 and the 
Democratic candidates received 46 ; that 
when the ballot-box purporting to come 
from Haut Gap precinct was opened by 
the commissioners of election of said 
county it contained no statement of the 
votes cast at said precinct signed by the 
managers at said precinct, but simply 
certain ballots and a poll-list signed by 
the commissioners of election for 
said county, acting as a board of 
county canvassers, that said bal- 
lots were found in all to number 
1,071 of which number the Republican 
candidates received 19 and the Demo- 
cratic candidates 1,052, and that the 
commissioners of election of Charleston 
County canvassed and counted the said 
ballots as last above stated as the votes 
of the Haut Gap precinct. 

Upon this statement, the evidence of 
the fraud being so overwhelming, the 
board passed the following resolution : 

Resolved, That the board overrules the action 
of the county board of canvassers as to the 
Haut Gap box, and accepts and ac:s upon the 
secondary evidence as to its contents as ad- 
duced before this board. 

In accordance with this resolution the 
State board corrected the vote as to the 



county officers, but held that as to mem- 
bers of Congress the board had no juris- 
diction — the same being vested exclu- 
sively in Congress in case of a contest. 
The Committee on Election, there- 
fore, as to this poll, counted it precisely 
as the Democratic precinct managers 
had counted it, as the State board of 
canvassers corrected and counted it for 
county officers, as the counsel for the 
Republican and Democratic candidates 
agreed in writing that it had been cast 
and should be counted: that is, for 
Mackey, 1,037; for O'Connor, 46. 

Mackey's election decided by the count 
of the Democratic precinct managers. 

In arriving at the conclusion that Mr. 
Mackey was elected by a majority of 
879, the committee accepted the returns 
precisely as counted by the precinct 
managers of the three counties compris- 
ing the district— Charleston, Orange- 
burgh, and Clarendon— every manager 
in every precinct in the district, as here- 
tofore stated, being a Democrat. There 
are sixty-one precincts in the three 
counties. The managers counted the 
vote at every poll and forwarded the re- 
sult, together with the -ballots and the 
lists of voters to the county canvassers. 
The aggregate result in the three coun- 
ties, as so counted by the managers and 
returned to the county canvassers, was 
as follows : 





Mackey. 


O'Connor 


Charleston 


12,707 
4,157 
1,473 


10,888 
4,057 
2,513 


Orangeburgh 


Clarendon 




Total 


18,337 


17,458 




Mackey's majority 


879 







In the county of Charleston the county 
canvassers counted twenty-six of the 
polls precisely as the managers had 
counted them, but changed the vote at 
Haut Gap poll from 1,037 for Mackey 
and 46 for O'Connor to 19 for Mackey 
and 1,052 for O'Connor, and left out en- 
tirely in their count seven precincts, 
which were counted by the managers as 
follows : For Mackey, 3,577; for O'Con- 
nor, 465. 

In the county of Orangeburgh the 
county canvassers counted fifteen of the 
polls precisely as the managers had 
counted them, but rejected four polls 
entirely, which were counted by the 
managers as follows : For Mackey, 1,445 ; 
for O'Connor, 430. 

In the county of Clarendon the county 
canvassers counted all the precincts, 
eight in number, precisely as the man- 
agers had counted them. The dispute, 
therefore, before the House Committee 
in this case narrowed itself down to 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



these twelve precincts, so far as Mr. 
Mackey's right to his seat was con- 
cerned. 

Totes in tbe eleven rejected polls- 
Supreme Conrt of State declares that 
they should be counted— O'Connor's 
false pretense of intimidation and 
violence. 

The eleven polls which were rejected 
by the county canvassers gave the fol- 
lowing aggregate vote: For Mackey, 
5,022 ; for O'Connor, 895. . 

A table compiled from the evidence in 
this case, shows the number of persons 
who voted at these precincts according 
to the poll-lists kept by the Democratic 
managers; the number of ballots 
found in the boxes at the close of 
the polls by those managers ; the num- 
ber of Republican ballots drawn out ; 
the number of Democratic ballots drawn 
out, and the vote as finally counted and 
returned by the managers to the county 
canvassers. 

The table is as follows : 

In Charleston and Orangeburgh coun- 
ties: 
Number of persons who voted according 

to the poll-lists kept by the managers of 

the election 5,993 

Number of ballots found in the boxes at 

the close of the election 6,230 

Number of ballots in excess of number of 

persons voting 237 

Number of Republican ballots drawn out 184 
Number of Democratic ballots drawn out 53 

Votes as counted by the Democratic 
precinct managers and returned to 
county canvassers : 

For Mackey 5,022 

For O'Connor 895 

In order to compel the county canvass- 
ers to count the votes of these polls ille- 
gally rejected, application on behalf of 
the contestant and the other candidates 
on the Republican ticket was made to 
Judge Wallace, one of the circuit judges 
of the State, for a writ of mandamus, 
which he declined to grant. An appeal 
was then taken to the supreme court of 
the State, and after a delay of many 
months it decided that the county boards 
had erred in rejecting these polls ; that 
under the law of South Carolina the 
duties of the county canvassers and 
State board of canvassers in counting 
the vote of a member of Congress were 
merely ministerial, and that none of 
said boards had the right to decide a 
protest or contest as to the election of a 
member of Congress, and concluded 
that — 

If E. W. Mackey, candidate for Congress, had 
filed his petition separately, praying that the 
mandamus might issue requiring the board of 
county canvassers to count the votes found in 
the boxes for him as a candidate for Congress, 



we do not see in the case any conclusive rea- 
son why the writ should not have issued as to 
him. 



Mr. Mackev, in his notice of contest, 
stated that these polls had been thrown 
out by the county canvassers. 

Mr. O'Connor, in his response, said, 
inter alia : 



Without admitting or denying that in Orange- 
burgh County the commissioners of election 
refused to count and canvass and include in 
their statement of the result of the election the 
votes cast, canvassed, and duly returned for a 
member of Congress at the following voting 
precincts, to wit, Lewisville, Fort Motte, Fo- 
gle's, and Bookhart's, I aver and shall main- 
tain that threats, acts of intimidation and vio- 
lence were perpetrated by your partisans and 
supporters. 



Responding to the charge relative to 
the polls rejected in Charleston county, 
he said, inter alia : 



I admit that in Charleston County the com- 
missioners of election, sitting as a board, of 
county canvassers, did not count, canvass> 
and include, in their statement of the result of 
the election, the votes cast at the following vot- 
ing precincts, to wit, Calamus Pond, Strawberry 
Ferry, Biggin Church, Ten Mile Hill, Brick 
Church, Enterprise, and Blaok Oak; but their 
refusal to count the same was well founded and 
justified on the part of the board, sitting as a 
board of county canvassers, because the re- 
turns from each of these precincts, witb the 
exception of Black Oak, when handed into the 
board were accompanied by protests, properly 
made out, charging intimidation, violence, and 
other outrages done by your partisans and sup- 
porters. 



This is a brief statement of the num- 
ber of votes cast and canvassed at these 
eleven polls rejected by the county 
board of canvassers of Charleston and 
Orangeburgh counties. It is true that 
Mr. O'Connor, in his answer, set up that 
these polls were thrown out because 
" threats, acts of intimidation, and vio- 
lence were perpetrated by the partisans 
and supporters of Mr. Mackey," "to 
the serious interference with the man- 
agers of election in the discharge of 
their duties, and to the prevention of a 
free and fair election," but he utterly 
failed to establish the charges in his 
proof. Not a single manager testifies 
that they were overawed and forced to 
make a miscount ; the farthest they go 
is that they believe many colored men 
would have voted for Mr. O'Connor if 
they had been left to their own free 
choice. No allegation set up by Mr. 
O'Connor for the rejection of these polls 
was supported even by the testimony of 
his own witnesses, and not a particle of 
evidence in the contestee's testimony 
shows that these polls were not counted 
as the committee reported, or that they 
were not so counted by the Democratic 
precinct managers. 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



37 



Tote of the Second Congressional Dis- 
trict of South Carolina, as counted 
and returned by the Democratic Man- 
agers of the Election. 





C 
o 
a 

i 

b 


i 

1 


Vote certified and declared by 
the State board of canvass- 


17,569 
1,052 


12,297 


Deduct the vote fraudulently 
returned by the county can- 
vassers of Charleston County 
as the vote of Haut Gap 


19 


Add the correct vote of Haut 
Gap we it was counted and re- 
turned by the managers of 
the election 


16,517 
46 


12,278 
1,037 



Add the correct vote of the fol- 
io wing polls, which the coun- 
ty canvassers of Charleston 
and Orangeburgh refused to 
count and canvass, as re- 
quired by law, to wit : 

Calamus Pond , 

Strawberr e 

Biggin Church , 

En erprise , 

Brick Church , 

Ten Mile Hill , 

Black Oak 

Fogle's 

Fort Motte 

Lewisville 

Bookhardt's 



16,563 



Total vote as counted and 
returned by the managers 
of the election 



Majority for E. W. M. Mackey. 



13,315 



119 


511 


90 


573 


63 


380 


161 


385 


16 


732 


5 


603 


11 


393 


40 


254 


85 


279 


236 


700 


69 


212 



17,458 



18,337 



17,458 



879 



That was the Democratic statement 
of the vote — the statement of the Demo- 
cratic officers of election — and by it 
Mackey 's majority was 879. 

Stuffing- Ballot-boxes, and their Purifi- 
cation by Bourbon Process — Blind- 
folded Bourbon draws out of box only 
Republican Ballots — The Result a 
Handsome Majority for Bourbon 
Usurper — Mackey's real and legal 
Majority of the Vote cast, 9,427— Bal- 
lot-box Stuffing. 

Although the majority of 879, shown to 
have been returned by the Democratic 
managers of the election to the county 
canvassers, was sufficient to entitle the 
contestant to be seated, yet the testi- 
mony also shows that the contestant ac- 
tually received a very much larger ma- 
jority. It was reduced to 879 by a uniform 
system of ballot-box stuffing— by causing 



to be put in the ballot-boxes at all of the 
polls in the Congressional district but 
ten an excess of votes over voters on the 
poll-lists, and then by drawing out a 
number of ballots equal to that excess — 
an operation by which the vote of Mr. 
Mackey was reduced and the vote of Mr. 
O'Connor greatly increased. 

In reference to these frauds the con- 
testant in his notice of contest charged 
that at each of those polls numerous 
ballots bearing contestee's name were 
fraudulently placed in the ballot-box for 
the purpose of creating in them an ex- 
cess of votes over voters, and thereby 
compelling the managers to draw out 
and destroy the excess of ballots thus 
created, in order to reduce the number 
of ballots in the box to the number of 
names on the poll-list ; that in drawing 
out of the box at each of those polls the 
excess of ballots so created, numerous 
ballots with contestant's name thereon 
which had been legally voted were 
drawn out and destroyed, and in their 
place were counted a corresponding 
number of ballots with contestee's name 
thereon which had not been legally 
voted ; and the change was substantially 
admitted by the contestee and fully 
proved by the contestant. 

The extent to which the ballots in the 
boxes exceeded the number of names on 
the poll- lists at these polls is shown in 
the following table : 

Number of persons who voted according to 

poll-list 36,248 

Number of ballots found in boxes 42,537 

Excess of ballots over voters 6,289 

In drawing this excess of 6,289 ballots, 
at many polls not a single Democratic 
ballot was drawn out, and at many only 
one; and the consequence was that 
nearly all the ballots drawn out were Re- 
publican. As a natural result, the Re- 
publican vote was greatly reduced and 
the Democratic vote greatly increased. 
By this table it appears that if Mackey's 
vote had been counted as cast, his ma- 
jority would have been 9,427 instead of 
879, as counted by the managers after 
this excess of 6,289 was drawn out. 



Blouse Seats 



Mr. Mackey — Yeas 
Nays. 



and 



The SPEAKER. The House will come 
to order. The Clerk will read the reso- 
lutions. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Resolved, Tbat the Hon. Samuel Dibble is not 
i entitled to bold the seat now occupied by bim 
j intbis House as a Representative from tbe sec- 
I ond district of Soutb Carolina in tbe Forty- 

seventb Congress 

Resolved, Tbat tbe Hon. E. W. M. Mackey was 

I duly elected'as a Representative from tbe sec- 

I ond Congressional district of Soutb Carolina in 

I tbe Forty-seventh Congress, and is entitled to a 

seat in this House. 



CONTESTED ELECTION CA8ES. 



The call of the roll was concluded; 
and there were— yeas 150, nays 3, not vot- 
ing 138, as follows : 

YEAS 150— Aldrich, Anderson, Barr, Bayne, 
Belford, Bingham, Bowman, Brewer, Brigss, 
Browne, Brumm, Buck, Burrows, Julius C. ; Bur- 
rows, Joseph H. : Butterworth, Calkins, Camp, 
Campbell, Cannon, Carpenter, Caswell, Chace, 
Cornell, Crapo, Crowley, Cullen, Cutis, Dar- 
rell, Davis, George R. ; Dawes, Deering. De 
Motte, Dezendorf, Dingley, Dunnell. Dwight, Er- 
rett, Farwell, Charles B.; Farwell, Sewell S.; 
Fisher, Ford, George, Godshalk, Grout, Guenther, 
Hall, Hammond, John; Harmer, Harris, Benjamin 
W, ; Haseltine, Haskell, Hawk, Hazelton, Hell- 
man, Henderson, Hepburn, Hill, Hiscock, Horr, 
Houk, Hubbell, Hubbs, Humphrey, Jacobs, Jad- 
win, Jones, George W.; Jones, Phineas; Jorgensen, 
Joyce, Kasson, Kelley, Ketcham, Lacey, Lewis, 
Lord, Lynch, Marsh, Mason, McClure, McCoid, 
McCook, McKinley. Miles, Miller, Moore, Morey, 
Neal, Norcross, O'Neill, Orth, Pachec o, Page, Par- 
ker, Paul, Payson, Peelle, Peirce, Pettibone, Pound, 
Prescott, Ranney, Rav, Reed, Rice, John B.; 
Rice, Theron M.; Rice, William W. ; Rich, Richard- 
son, D. P. ; Ritchie, Robeson, Robinson, George D.; 
Robinson, James S. ; Russell, Ryan, Scranton, Shal- 
lenberger, Sherwin, Shultz, Skinner, Smith, A. Herr; 
Smith, Dietrich C; Smith, J. Hyatt; Spaulding, 
Spooner, Steele, Stone, Strait, Taylor, Thomas, 
Thompson, William G. ; Townsend, Amos; Tyler, 
Updegraff, J. T. ; Updegraff, Thomas; Urner, Van 
Aernam, Van Horn, Van Voorhis, Wadsworth, 
Wait, Walker, Ward, Washburn, Watson, Webber, 
West. White, Williams, Charles G.; Willits, Wood, 
Walter A. 

NAYS %—Harderibergh, Morse, Phelps. 

NOT VOTING 138— Aiken, Armfleld, Atherton, At- 
kins, Barbour, Beach, Belmont, Beltzhoover, Berry, 
Black, Blackburn, Blanchard, Bland, Bliss, Blount, 
Bragg, Buchanan, Buckner, Cabell, Caldwell, Candler, 
Carlisle, Cassidy, Chapman, Cardy, Clark, Clements, 
Cobb, Colerick, Converse, Cook, Cox, Samuel S.; Cox, 
William R.; Covington, Cravens, Culberson, Curtin, 
Davidson, Davis, Lowndes H; Deuster, Dibble, 
Dibrell, Dowd, Dugro, Dunn, Ellis, Ermentrout, 
Evins, Finley, Flower, Forney, Frost, Futkerson, 
Garrison, Geddes, Gibson, Gunter, Hammond, N. J.; 
Hardy, Harris, Henry S.; Hatch, Herbert, Hern- 
don, Hewitt, Abram S.; Hewitt, G. W.; Hoblitzell, 
Hoge, Holman, Hooker, House, Hutchins, Jones, 
James K.; Kenna, King, Klotz,Knott, Ladd, La- 
tham, Leedom, Le Fevre, Lindsey, Manning, Martin, 
Matson, McKenzie, McLane, McMillin, Mills, Money, 
Morrison, Mosgrove, Moulton, Muldrow, Murch, 
Mutchler, Nolan, Oates, Phister, Randall, Reagan, 
Richardson, John S.;Robertson, Robinson, William E.; 
Rosecrans, Ross, Scales, Scoville, Shackelford, Shelley, 
Simonton, Singleton, James W.; Singleton, Otho R.; 
Sparks, Speer, Springer, Stephens, Stockslager, Tal- 
bott, Thompson, P. B.; Tillman, Towushend, R. W.; 
Tucker, Turner, Henry G.; Turner, Oscar; Upson, 
Valentine, Vance, Warner, Wellborn, Wheeler, Whit- 
thorne, Williams, Thomas; Willis, Wilson, Wise, 
George D.; Wise, Morgan R.; Wood, Benjamin; 
Young. 

So the resolutions reported by the 
Committee on Elections were adopted. 



PART IV., 
Iiowe vs. Wheeler. 

History of the Case. 

At the general election held in No- 
vember, 1880, in the Eighth Congress- 
ional district of Alabama, (comprising 
the counties of Colbert, Franklin, Jack- 
son, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, 
Madison, and Morgan), the candidates 



for a seat in the Forty-seventh Con- 
gress were Joseph Wheeler (Democrat) 
and Wm. M. Lowe (Greenback Demo- 
crat) . The returned aggregate vo » e was : 
for Wheeler 12,808, for Lowe 12,765 ; ma- 
jority for Wheeler, 43, upon which Mr. 
Wheeler was given the certificate of 
election. Mr. Lowe at once took the 
necessary steps to contest Mr. Wheeler's 
right to a seat in the House. 
The Pretense that Wheeler was denied 
a Gearing before the Committee a 
Fraud— A Characteristic Ruse for De- 
lay. 

In the House the claims of the two 
parties were early referred to the Com- 
mittee on Elections, and by it to a sub- 
committee composed of Messrs. Thomp- 
son of Iowa, Hazelton, Eanney, Paul, 
and Beltzhoover. All manner of delays 
to prevent a hearing or adjudication of 
the case were the tactics resorted to by 
the contestee (Wheeler) supported by 
the Democracy. On the 24th of Decem- 
ber, 1881, within three days after the or- 
ganization of the committee, the testi- 
mony in the case was given to the Public 
Printer and printed. No extension of 
time or delays were asked by the 
contestant Lowe. All requests of that 
kind were made for by the contestee, 
and his every request or motion for ex- 
tension of time was granted by the com- 
mittee. Finally on the 1st of May, 1882, 
after months of delay asked for and ob- 
tained by the contestee or his attorney, 
Mr. Wheeler filed his brief in the case. 
Hence his cry, and that of the Demo- 
cracy in the House, that Wheeler was 
denied time to prepare and argue his 
case, denied a hearing before the com- 
mittee, was simply a fraud; it had no 
foundation in fact. 

No politics in the case — Wheeler and 
Lowe rivals in villification of the Re- 
publican party— No fair election in Al- 
abama for fifteen years. 

The charges and counter-charges, 
criminations and recrimination s, 
brought by the contestee and contest- 
ant, one against the other, renders it 
doubtful which of these two men has in 
the last ten years been most forward in 
abusing, villifying, or traducing the Re- 

Sublican party. Mr. Lowe, however, 
enounces bulldozing and the robbery 
of the ballot-box, and demands a free 
ballot and a fair count. He says that in 
the last fifteen years there has not been 
a free or fair election in all Alabama. 
The conspiracy and its Agents and Pro- 
gramme-Vigilance in Registration- 
Negroes must realize that they are 
enrolled for the benefit of the Demo- 
crats—The Poor and Dependent, the 
weaker classes generally, must be 
manipulated. 
We print from the evidence in this 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



case the following parts of an extra- 
ordinary document authoritatively pre- 
scribing the villainous Bourbon Demo- 
cratic programme for the capture of the 
8th Alabama Congressional District: 

The following recommendations are made to 
the respective Hancock clubs in the 8th Con- 
gressional district of Alabama. * * * 

THE WHITE VOTB. 

1. Make a list of white voters in each precinct 
not on the roll of its club. 

2. Appoint a committee of one member to wait 
on each of these, and respectfully and cordially 
invite him to join us. The committee to report 
at the next meeting of the club. 

3. If any one fails to respond to this invita- 
tion, send a committee of two other members 
most likely to influence him, who will urge him 
by everv consideration that can be presented 
not by lethargy or inaction to desert his kin- 
dred and country in this effort of deliverance, 
and in some cases to tell him that his decision 
will, in the opinion of many of his friends and 
neighbors, determine whether we regard him as 
a friend or foe to our party. 

With some persons such extreme expressions 
would not be advisable, as many gentlemen who 
do not care to have their names enrolled in 
clubs are our earnest friends. 

THE BLACK VOTE. 

1. Make at once a complete list of the quali- 
fied negro voters in your precinct, in which 
shall be set down : 

First. The name and address of each voter. 

Second. With whom he works, and whether 
as a hired hand or tenant. 

Third. What merchant or other person ad- 
vances for him. 

2. It is deemed preferable that this census be 
made by regularly appointed census-takers or 
committee, and that the negro voter should know 
that he is thus enrolled by the club. * * * * 

PLAN OF CAMPAIGN. 

1. The Hancock clubs for the election of all 
Democratic nominees will meet not less than 
twice a month ; oftener when expedient, and in 
executive session with closed doors. 

2. It is desirable that our attention be con- 
centrated upon selected negro voters to secure 
the majority desired, and that the others be let 
alone. 

Those selected for our efforts should be, not 
party leaders, office-seekers, or others who ex- 
pect' to make something out of the Radical 
party, but- 
First. Those who have acquired property and 
pay taxes. 

Second. Those whose relations to and stand- 
ins: with the whites is best. 

Third. Those who are poorest and most de- 
pendent upon the whites. 
Fourth. The weaker classes generally. 

3. It is deemed best to operate upon the indi- 
vidual negro voters and to carefully avoid at- 
tempting to influence them in masses. To this 
end, when your register of negro voters is com- 
plete, submit it to your club, and require each 
member to select such negro or negroes as he 
can influence. Let such member be a commit- 
tee of one for the purpose he has undertaken 
and report results to the executive committee 
of the club ; these results to be registered and 
report when called for by the county chairman. 

The Clauses of Alabama Constitution in 
reference to the Ballot, «fcc 



The constitution of Alabama provides 



that all popular elections shall be by 
ballot ; that no educational or property 
test for suffrage or office shall ever be 
imposed; and that the legislature shall 
protect the ballot by adequate penalties, 
&c. What is a ballot in the meaning of 
the Constitution? It has the same 
meaning in law as in the common ac- 
ceptation of the people. It is a piece of 
paper or other suitable material with 
the name of the person or persons voted 
for written or printed thereon, together 
with the office for which each person so 
named is intended to be chosen. (Cool- 
ey's Constitutional Limitations, 760.) 

Whole Election Machinery of Alabama 
in hands of Bourbons— Election Of- 
ficials unable to Read or Write. 

The whole machinery of the election 
was in the hands of Mr. Wheeler's par- 
tisan friends. At many of the precincts 
his Democratic supporters refused to al- 
low a Republican inspector to act or be 
appointed. It was in evidence that a 
circular was sent out notifying inspect- 
ors of election that the law for the ap- 
pointment of United States supervisors 
was invalid, and should be disregarded; 
that the United States supervisors had 
no business to touch a ballot or to inter- 
fere with the election in any way. 

In nearly every one of the election pre - 
cincts, from one end of the district to 
the other, the whole machinery of the 
election was in the hands of the partisan 
friends of the contestee, who refused to 
put upon the board any man selected by 
the friends of the contestant ; who re- 
fused to select for that position any in- 
telligent man, any man who could read 
and write, and in some case appointed 
over the protest of Republicans men 
who could neither read nor write, 
and who, as they supposed, would not 
be able to detect the frauds they pro- 
posed to perpetrate. 

The Bourbons secure a majority only 
by manipulating the Ballot Box— Dis- 
franchisement of voters throug-h the 
rejection of legal ballots leg-ally cast. 

More than one thousand of the voters 
of the district were disfranchised— vot- 
ers for Wm. M. Lowe— on the ground 
that the tickets voted were illegal in de- 
sign. Over six hundred votes were 
thus rejected simply and solely because 
on the face of their ticket, before the 
word "district," was printed, the numer- 
als "1st, 2d, 3d,"&c. 

Form and Words of the Rejected Ballots. 

The rejected ballots were in the fol- 
lowing form and words: 



40 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



For Electors for President and 
Vice President. 

state at large. 
W. L. BRAGG. 
E. A. O'NEAL. 

district electors. 

1st District— D. P. BESTOR, 

2d District— JOHN A. PADGETT, 

3d District—J. F. WADDELL, 

4th District— JOHN ENOCHS. 

5tli District— THDS. W. SADDLER, 

6th District—J. G. HARRIS, 

7fch District— F. W. BOWDON, 

8th District— H. C. JONES. 

FOR CONGRESS — EIGHTH DISTRICT. 

WILLIAM M. LOWE. 



For Electors for President and 
Vice President. 

state at large. 
JAMES M. PICKENS. 
OLIVER S. BEERS. 

DISTRICT ELECTORS. 

1st District— C. C. McCALL, 

2d District—J. B. TOWNSEND, 

3d District— A. B. GRIFFIN, 

4th District— HILLIARD M. JUDGE, 

5th District— THEODORE NUNN. 

6th District—J. B. SHIELDS, 

7th District— H. R. McCOY, 

8th District— JAMES H. '.OWAN 

FOR CONGRESS— EIGHTH DISTRICT. 

WILLIAM M. LOWE. 



Six Hundred Totes Rejected— A Detail- 
ed Summary. 

The following exhibits a summary of 
the rejected votes : 

Votes. 

Big Creek 7 

Chickasaw 8 

Courtland 65 

Danville 42 

Decatur 3 

Elkmont 56 

Falkville 97 

Flint 76 

Fl orenoe 4 

Green Hill 22 

Huntsville 63 

Kash's 2 

Madison 3 

Meridianville (No. 1) 32 

Owen's Cross Roads 31 

Poplar Ridge 41 

Russellville „ 51 

Total 601 



Violent Bourbon Outrages in the Mani- 
pulation of the Ballot-Box— Bourbons 
Ash for and then Denounce United 
States supervisors— Mutilate or Steal 
Registration liists. 

The evidence shows that at Lanier's 
box all the State officers were well- 
known Bourbons, and that the ballot- 
box in the absence of opposition inspec- 
tors was duly stuffed in the interest of 
the contestee. The evidence shows the 
fact to a moral if not to a legal certainty. 
The testimony of Hertzler, McDonnell, 
K. H. Lowe, McDaniel, Toney, Lanier, 
and others ought, a priori, to satisfy any 
honest doubt on the subject; but, a for- 
tiori, while the inspectors return only 
57 votes for Lowe, 128 of the voters 
themselves voluntarily swear that they 
cast their ballot with Lowe's name upon 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



41 



them. The same thing is disclosed at 
Meridianville. All the officers were 
Bourbons ; Lowe had no friends among 
them; and the ballot-box was stuffed, 
of course, by the partisans of Wheeler. 
The evidence shows how these things 
were done, and systematically done, by 
Wheeler's partisans. They called on 
the United States marshal for deputies 
at the election, and then denounced him 
as a usurper for granting their request, 
and issued a formal proclamation 
"warning" the people against his au- 
thority. They refused in many instances 
to appoint Republican or Greenback in- 
spectors, but they petitioned the Federal 
judge far in advance of either party for 
United States supervisors for them- 
selves, while both before and after their 
a r pointment they railed out in the name 
o! State rights against all Federal elec- 
t ion officers as the enemies and oppress- 
ors of the people. They falsified inces- 
santly in every way from the beginning 
to the end of the canvass, while they 
held themselves out to the people as the 
only friends of decency and truth. They 
mutilated or stole away the registration 
lists, and then charged a failure to regis- 
ter upon the opposition. They avowed 
their devotion to an honest election and 
a fair count while forging every kind of 
false and deceptive ballot. 

The infamous yellow circular — Further 
proofs of Bourbon conspiracy and 
frauds— Marks or figures on Ballot 
prohibited by election laws— Such 
ballots ordered to be rejected— Never- 
theless Democratic Returning 1 Boards 
can only count for Wheeler 43 ma- 
jority— Democratic minority of House 
Committee beat Alabama Democratic 
Returning Board at the game of 
fraudulent Counting. 

Thef ollowing circular, calledthe "yel- 
low circular," was placed in the hands 
of Wheeler's partisans at every elec- 
tion precinct or poll throughout the dis- 
trict: 

[Yellow circular.] 

Dear Sir : As soon as the polls are closed in- 
form tbe inspectors of the election that the 
Lowe tickets with Hancock electors on them are 
illegal. They contain the figures 1st, 2d, &c, 
designating the district. These are marks or 
figures which are prohibited by the election laws; 
see acts 1878-79, page 72 ; and all such tickets 
should be rejected when the votes are counted, 
after the polls are closed. 

(Indorsed :) To be shown only to very discreet 
friends. 

It was inclosed in the following : 

IMPORTANT. 

You are specially designated as a person 
whose influence and ability can accomplish 
much in the election. 

******* 

You are earnestly requested to be at the polls 
before the voting commences, and if any in- 



spectors or managers are absent see that a good 
Democrat takes his place. • This is very import- 
ant. 

******* 

By order of the Congressional Comt. 
A. J. SYKES, 

Chairman. 
E. H. FOSTER, 

Secretary. 

At the close of the polls, as the evi- 
dence shows, the vote stood: for Lowe, 
13,456; for Wheeler, 12,609— majority 
for Lowe, 847. But in obedience to the 
"yellow circular" decree, the returning 
boards of the district rejected of Lowe 
ballots denounced as illegal because of 
the numerals "1st," "2d," "3d," &c, 
printed on them, a number sufficient to 
return a majority for Wheeler of 43. Al- 
though the election machinery was in the 
hands of Mr. Wheeler's friends, and 
they cast out these 601 votes, threw 
overboard more than 700 by failing to 
count or return them, yet, in spite of 
all this, the returning board of the dis- 
trict, experienced as its members were, 
heartless as the evidence shows them to 
be, could only figure 43 majority for 
General Whaler in that district. 

It was left to the minority of the Com- 
mittee on Elections to surpass them at 
their own °*me and to actually figure a 
majority for General Wheeler of 2,625. 
The retui -jing boards, every one of 
them Den ocratic, composed of neigh- 
bors, frie ds, and partisans of the con- 
testee, h»d not cheek enough to return 
a majori v of more than 43; but the 
minorit v : >f the House committee, having 
a bettc Knowledge of arithmetic, return 
a majority of 2,625. 

The rejected Lowe ballots violated no 
law of Alabama — Wheeler tickets 
printed with figures or marks like 
Rejected Lowe Ballots counted— Im. 
possible to frame ticket technically 
legal in every sense. 

It was in evidence, and undisputed, 
that at this election, Wheeler tickets, 
printed like Lowe tickets, with nume- 
rals on them, were counted for Wheeler. 
At the Huntsville poll, 147 such votes 
were counted. The only difference was, 
that one set of tickets had numerals on 
the side, and the other set had numerals 
on the tail. Why were these Wheeler 
tickets counted and similar Lowe tickets 
rejected? 

Was it not in obedience to the fraud 
deliberately concocted by Wheeler and 
his partisans and announced in the in- 
famous yellow circular? But the re- 
jected Lowe tickets violated no law of 
Alabama. It probably would be im- 
possible to frame a strictly legal ballot 
— a ticket against which no flimsy or 
fraudulent objection could be raised. 

If "figures" mean numerals, if "char- 
acters'' mean letters, if "marks" mean 
punctuation marks, if "rulings" mean 



42 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



printer's rules, if "embellishments" 
mean the art of penmanship or the 
graces of job-work, it would be prac- 
tically impossible to write or print a 
ballot which would not technically of- 
fend against the letter of the statute. 
But that is not the proper construction 
of the law. It is the construction of 
school-boys and school-books, not of 
lawyers and courts. 

Active Bourbon Invention— Canning 
Bourbon devices to disfranchise Re- 
publican and Greenback, voters— Car- 
penters with Tape-line and Merchants 
with Yard-stick measure ballots— In- 
dustrious and ingenious fraud. 

One of their inspectors, a carpenter by 
trade, carried his tape-line to the polls 
to measure Lowe's ballots while count- 
ing them ; and another, being a mer- 
chant, utilized his yard- stick for the 
minimum discovery, after the election, of 
a score or more of Lowe's ballots, which 
he triumphantly declared were from 
one-sixteenth to one sixty-fourth of an 
inch too long or too short. Indeed, these 
Bourbon officials were industrious to 
invent and employ every cunning arti- 
fice and secret trick in the election, 
while busying themselves to conceal 
their methods, not from their opponents 
only, but from the more scrupulous men 
in their own ranks. And when brought 
to the bar to answer for their offenses, 
whether as a witness, party, or juror, 
they know how to avoid perjury by 
what we may designate as a " detour of 
intention," a compromise with consci- 
ence, a mental reservation against the 
constitutionality of the law or the juris- 
diction of the court. 

These offenses were more notorious 
and worse in fact in Madison county 
than in any part of North Alabama. 
They began with the election frauds 
of August and continued through the 
November elections. They filled the 
public mind with a cloud of suspicion 
and distrust. 

"Wheeler attempts to Hedge, and al- 
leges new but equally baseless grounds 
in support of his title to his Seat- 
Pleads that thousands who voted for 
Lowe were not registered— Alabama 
Law does not require voters to regis- 
ter. 

Wheeler, realizing that he could not 
maintain his seat through the notorious 
frauds by which he had been counted 
in, attempted to hedge by alleging the 
discovery that thousands of Lowe ballots 
had been cast by men not registered. 
Admitting that fact, what of if? The 
law of Alabama does not make a man's 
right to vote contingent upon his regis- 
tering. But it provides that the inspec- 
tors of election should have at every poll 



in the district, at every precinct, a man 
with registration certificates ; andwhen- 
ever a voter was not registered he could 
apply to that man and be registered 
right there and vote. 

Besides, where were the registration 
lists? Where the proof that the men 
not registered cast their ballots for 
Lowe ? Where the proof that they were 
not registered? But the committee, in 
order to test this new charge as far as 
possible; took the scraps of registry 
lists which had been furnished them— 
all that could be found in the 8th Ala- 
bama district, and contrasting Wheeler's 
pretended lists of non-voters with the 
names on them, actually found regis- 
tered even on those scraps of registry 
hundreds of names alleged by Wheeler 
not to be registered. Wheeler's pre- 
tense was simply a fraud. 

Registration Law of Alabama — Regis- 
tration no Qualification of Voters — 
Citizens may Legally Vote on Certifi- 
cate— No Rooks of Registry. 

The constitution of Alabama, article 
8, section 5, provides : 

The General Assembly may when necessary 
provide by law for the registration of electors 
throughout the State, or in any incorporated 
city or town thereof, and when it is so provided 
no person shall vote at any election unless he 
shall have registered as required by law. 

The natural construction of this pro- 
vision is that registration could not be 
made a prerequisite to voting unless it 
existed in the law itself creating tke 
registration. 

There is nothing in the language of 
the provision to warrant any other con- 
clusion. If the framers of that instru- 
ment had intended to make registration 
a constitutional condition precedent to 
the right to vote they could and would 
have said so in plain, direct, and une- 
quivocal language. 

If the Constitution, per se, makes reg- 
istration a qualification of voting, why 
should it vest such a discretion as it has 
in the Legislature over the main ques- 
tion? The reasonable construction is 
that the General Assembly is author- 
ized to enact a registry law and provide 
in that law that no person shall vote at 
any election unless he shall have regis- 
tered as required by law; and when such 
law so provides, and not otherwise, reg- 
istration becomes an absolute condition 
of the right to vote. The present regis- 
try law of Alabama does not contain any 
such condition. 

Indeed, it is hardly entitled to be 
called a registry law. It is crude and 
imperfect, and its execution has been of 
the same character. Eegistration made 
in 1875, under that law, is a complete 
registration to-day. Registration in one 
Congressional district, or in one town or 
precinct is registration under that law, 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



4a 



in any one within the State. And its 
so-called registrations exist in mere 
fragments. 

Judge after judge, constituted by law 
the custodian thereof, swears he does 
not know where his book of registry is. 
Another judge swears he has a few 
scraps of paper, that they call a regis- 
tration list, in his office. And so on. 
The law has never been executed as it 
is. And the law never required any man 
to register in order to have a right to 
vote. The law provides any man going 
to the polls who is not registered shall 
have the privilege of going to a regis- 
trar, appointed on the morning of the 
election, and may register. And that is 
a compliance with the law. 
Democrats Xot Registered Toted upon 
Affidavit— Lowe certificates all Prop- 
erly Verified. 

On election day many Democrats, not 
registered, secured affidavits and voted. 
All the Lowe affidavits, every one of 
them, upon which votes were cast were 
duly certified or authenticated as pre- 
scribed by the law of Alabama. 

Wheeler also raises the cry of Forgery- 
Its Baseless Character— The false pre- 
tense of Forgery and Fraud to appear 
in all cases as a part of the programme 
to maintain Confederates in seats 
usurped through violence and Fraud. 

The report of the Democratic minor- 
ity in the case declares : 

It is also claimed by Mr. Lowe that Flint pre- 
cinct was not counted in the returns of Morgan 
County, and that this precinct gave him 17 ma- 
jority, out the proof regarding this mattter is 
contradictory, and is tainted by a forgery, 
which the affidavit of the probate judge shows 
was indorsed upon it after it went into the 
hands of Mr. Lowe and his attorneys. 

So far as reaching the meaning indi- 
cated, it is an absolute fabrication. 
What is this "taint" of forgery? In 
making up the official vote of Morgan 
County the proper officer had omitted 
to include, by mistake, evidently, in his 
certificate, tne result of the vote at Flint 
box precinct, and this fact of omission 
was afterward noted on the outside of 
the certificate by the following memo- 
randum: "Flint box not given: Lowe 
76 ; Wheeler 59 ; " and was no doubt so 
noted by the returning officer or his 
clerk. In the light of the facts such an 
insinuation is an impeachment of the 
men who make it, and not of Lowe and 
his attorneys. 

This insinuation against the integrity 
of Mr. Lowe and his attorneys found its 
way into the minority report, not from 
the facts in this case, not from the 
judgment or convictions of the men 
who made and submitted the report 
to the House, but in deference to the 
policy of a party caucus of the minority 
of the House, that had resolved to over- 



ride the sovereignty ,of a majority of 
the American Congress in the execution 
of an unlimited power of the Constitu- 
tion, the absolute right and power of 
the House to judge of the elections, re- 
turns and qualifications of its own mem- 
bers, upon the mere pretense of forgery 
or fraud, which was to appear upon the 
face of all minority reports in the elec- 
tion cases of the House involving the 
unseating of members on the other side 
of this Chamber, and furnish thereby 
an excuse for delay in the public busi- 
ness by filibustering as has confronted 
us for days in the South Carolina case 
of Mackey against Dibble. 

House seats Mr. Lowe- Teas and Nays. 

The SPEAKER. The question recurs 
on the adoption of the resolutions re- 
ported by the Committee on Elections, 
which the Clerk will read. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Resolved, That Joseph Wheeler is not entitled 
to a seat in this House as a Representative in 
the Forty-seventh Congress from the eighth 
Congressional district of Alabama. 

Resolved, That William M. Lowe is entitled to 
a seat in this House as a Representative in the 
Forty-seventh Congress from the eighth Con- 
gressional district of Alabama. 

The yeas and nays were ordered. 

The question was taken ; and it was 
decided in the affirmative — yeas 148, 
nays 3, not voting 140 ; as follows : 

YEAS 148— Aldrich, Anderson, Barr, Bayne,. 
Bingham, Bisbee, Bowman, Brewer, Brigars, 
Browne, Buck, Burrows, Julius C. ; Burrows, 
Joseph H.; Butterworth, Calkins, Camp, Cannons- 
Carpenter, Caswell, Chace, Cornell, Crapo, Cullen, 
Cutts, Darrell, Davis, George R. ; Dawes, Deering, 
DeMotte, Dezendorf, Dingley, Dunnell, Dwight, Er- 
rett, Farwell, Charles B.; Farwell, Sewell S.; 
Fisher, Ford, Fulkerson, George, Godshalk, Grout, 
Guenlher, Hall, Hammond, John; Harmer, Harris, 
Benjamin W, ; Haseltiue, Haskell, Hawk, Hazelton, 
Heilman, Henderson, Hepburn, Hill, Hiscock, 
Horr, Houk, Hubbell, Hubbs, Humphrey, Jacobs, 
Jadwin, Jones, George W.; Jones, Phineas; Joyce, 
Kasson, Kelley. Ketcham, Lacey, Ladd, Lewis, 
Lord, Lynch, Mackey, Marsh, Mason, McClure, 
McCoid, McCook, McKinley. Miles, Miller, Moore, 
Morey, Neal, Norcross, O'Neill, Pacheco, Page, Par- 
ker, Paul, Payson, Peelie, Peirce, Pound, Prescott, 
Ranney, Ray, Reed, Rice, TheronM,; Rice, William 
W. ; Rich, Richardson, D. P.; Ritchie, Robeson, 
Robinson, George D.; Robinson, James S.; Russell, 
Ryan, Scranton, Shallenberger, Sherwin, Shultz, 
Skinner.Smith.A.Herr; Smith, Dietrich C; Smith, 
J. Hyatt; Spaulding, Spooner, Steele, Stone, Strait, 
Taylor, Thomas, Thompson, William G. ; Town- 
send, Amos; Tyler, Updegraff, J. T.; Updegraff, 
Thomas; Urner, Valentine, Van Aernam, Van 
Horn, Van Voorhis, Wadsworth, Wait, Walker, 
Ward, Washburn, Watson, Webber, West. White, 
Williams, Charles G.; Willits, Wood, Walter A.; 
Young. 

NAYS Z—Hardenbergh, Phelps, Rice, John B. 

NOT VOTING U0— Aiken, Armfleld, Atherton, At- 
kins, Barbour, Beach, Belford, Belmont, Beltzhoover, 
Berry, Black, Blacktoirn, Blanchard, Bland, Bliss, 
Blount, Bragg, Brumm, Buchanan, Buckner, Cabell, 
Caldwell, Campbell, Candler, Carlisle, Cassidy, 
Chapman, dardy, Clark, Clements, Cobb, Colcrick, 
Converse, Cook, Cox, Samuel S.; Cox, William R; 
Covington, Cravens, Crowley, Culberson, Curtin, 
Davidson, Davis, Lowndes H.; Deuster, Dibrell, 
Dowd, Dugro, Dunn, Ellis, Ermenirout, Evins, Flower, 



44 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



Forney, Frost, Garrison, Geddes, Gibson, Gun'er, 
Hammond, N. J.; Hardy, Harris, Henry S.; Hatch, 
Herbert. Herndon, Hewitt, Abram S.; Hewitt, G. W.; 
Hoblitzell, Hoge, Holman, Hooker, House, Hutchins, 
Jones, James K; Jorgensen, Kenna, King, Klotz, 
Knott, Latham, Leedom, Le Fevre, Lindsey. Manning, 
Martin, Matson, McKenzie, McLane, McMillin, Mills, 
Money, Morrison. Morse, Mosgrove, Moulton, Muldrow, 
Murch, Mutchler, Nolan, Oates, Orth, Pettibone, 
Phister, Randall, Reagan, Richardson, John S.; 
Robertson, Robinson, William E.; Rosecrans, Ross, 
Scales, ScovUle, Shackelford, Shelley, Simonton, Single- 
ton, James W.; Singleton, Otho R.; Sparks, Speer, 
Springer, Stephens, Stockslager, Talbott, Thompson, P. 
B.; Tillman, Townshend, R. W.; Tucker, Turner, 
Henry G.; Turner, Oscar; Upson, Vance, Warner, 
Wellborn, Wheeler, Whitthorne, Williams, Thomas; 
Willis, Wilson, Wise, George D.; Wise, Morgan R.; 
Wood, Benjamin. 



PART V. 
Bisbee vs. Finley. 

History of the Case. 

At the general election held in Novem- 
ber, 1880, in the second Congressional 
district of Florida, (comprising the 
counties of Alachua, Baker, Brevard, 
Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dade, Duval, 
Hamilton, Madison, Marion, Nassau, 
Orange, Putnam, St. John's, Suwanee, 
and Volusia,) Jesse J. Finley, (Demo- 
crat,) and Horatio Bisbee, jr., (Republi- 
can,) were the candidates for a seat in 
the Forty-seventh Congress. The ag- 
gregate vote on the face of the returns 
was -for Finley, 13.579; for Bisbee, 12,- 
427 — making a majority on the face of 
the returns for Finley of 1,152, upon 
which Mr. Finley received the Govern- 
or's certificate of election. Mr. Bisbee 
accordingly entered upon the necessary 
legal measures to contest Mr. Finley's 
right to a seat in the House, thus mak- 
ing the fourth of a series of four con- 
tests from the same district, to which 
the claimants to a seat in the present 
House were one or both of them parties. 
Fraud and contests in the district had 
become chronic. 
Correction of Bourbon Fraudulent 

Count in Madison County— Bisbee's 

Legal majority 564. 

The original returns upon their face 
gave Finley a majority of 1,152, but it 
was conceded that two returns in due 
form and properly authenticated, and 
aggregating 149 votes, from two pre- 
cincts in Madison County, were not 
counted by the county canvassers. 
These reduced contestee's majority to 
1,003. No excuse was alleged or shown 
for the conduct of the county canvass- 
ers referred to. Under the laws of 
Florida, as previously adjudicated by 
the supreme court of that State, they 
were bound to count these returns, hav- 
ing no revisory discretion of judicial 
authority vested in them to do other- 
wise. Their failure to do so can be 
accounted for only on the assump- 
tion of fraud or gross negligence 



amounting to fraud. We start, there- 
fore, in an examination of the facts in 
the case, with an apparent majority of 
1,003 votes in favor of contestee Finley, 
but soon find that, in one aspect of the 
case, the very worst aspect which can 
be assumed, contestant Bisbee was 
elected by a majority of 83 votes ; but 
in another aspect, which the majority 
of the committee believed to be the true 
one, as not only warranted by the law 
and the evidence, but as established 
firmly by the proofs, Bisbee was elected 
by a majority of about 564 votes. 
Minority Report claims only 316 ma- 
jority for Finley. 

The report of the minority of the 
committee indulges in an extended ar- 
gument and voluminous statement— a 
cloud of words or sophistry. It argues 
at length in support of the original re- 
turn of 1,152 majority for Finley, but 
finally with great liberality concedes 
that Finley's majority was only 316. 
One of the miuority so announces i,t in 
an unqualified statement, thus practi- 
cally yielding all else in controversy. 

Details from the Testimony in proof of 
Bisbee's election— His majority 564— 
The Figures and Facts. 

A minute analysis of the majority re- 
port shows that the contestant claimed, 
sustained by the facts, that 269 votes 
were tendered for him and illegally re- 
jected ; that 96 illegal votes were cast 
for coutestee ; that 237 votes were cast 
for contestant in Alachua County more 
than were returned for him, to wit, 191 
at Arredonda, 18 at Newnansville poll, 
and 28 at Parker's Store poll, these 237 
votes having been cast by persons 
whose names appear on the poll lists, 
and 156 of them having been counted 
for Mr. Finley instead of contestant. 
Contestant's vote was thereby wrong- 
fully reduced by 237 votes, and contes- 
tee's vote wrongfully increased by 156. 
This results in reducing Mr. Finley's 
majority to the extent of 393 votes as 
the proper deduction on account of these 
three polls. That contestant's majority 
in Madison County was at least 436, in- 
stead of 108, on the face of the district 
returns, making a difference of 328 votes, 
which should also be deducted from Mr. 
Finley's reported majority named. That 
would give contestant a majority of 83 
votes without rejecting any returns or 
deducting any votes from Mr. Finley 
except the 96 illegal votes and the votes 
cast for contestant and wrongfully 
counted for contestee. 

The majority of 645 found for contest- 
ant, in the other aspect of the case, was 
obtained by rejecting Brevard County, 
which gave Mr. Finley a majority of 
148, because there was a fraudulent ne- 
glect or omission to obey the law relat- 
ing to registration, so that the entire 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



45 



foundation for a legal election in that 
county was wanting ; by rejecting the 
so-called returns of Fort Christmas 
poll, Orange County, where Mr. Finley's 
majority was 27, and counting nothing 
there for either in the absence of all 
proof as to what it was; by rejecting 
the returns of Arredonda, Newnansville, 
and Parker's Store polls, by which Mr. 
Finley loses his returned vote (not hav- 
ing proved any) of 172 at Arredonda, 
146 at Newnansville poll, and 155 at 
Parker's Store, total 473; from which 
237 (number proved for Mr. Bisbee over 
returned vote) must be deducted, leav- 
ing 236 to be carried into column of de- 
ductions; by rejecting return No. 3, 
Hamilton County, which gave Mr. Fin- 
ley a majority of 68 ; by adding one vote 
for contestant and deducting same from 
the vote of Mr. Finley in Nassau County. 
That is one way of stating it. 

Table giving: in another form the Fig- 
ures and Principles in proof of Bis- 
bee's election. 

The following table gives the figures 
and principles in another form : 







© 
■ 


The total vote returned is 


13,430 


12,427 


Add to contestant's vote the 
votes tendered and rejected 

Deduct from contestee's vote 
the illegal votes cast for him 

Deduct from contestee's vote at 
the Arredonda poll, 172 ; New- 
nansville poll, 1*6 ; Parker's 
Store, 155 


96 
473 


269 


And add to contestant* 
the votes proven at sai 
in excess of his returne 
Arredonda, 191; Nev 
ville, 18 ; Parker's Stor< 

Madison County, deduc 
contestee 


j vote 
i polls 
ivote, 
ynans- 
i, 28 


237 


t from 


163 




165 


Nassau County.Odwin's Branch 
poll, deduct from contestee. . . 


1 


.... 








Total of above correction.. 


733 


672 


Total vote returned for 
Bisbee 

Add Bisbee's corrected 
vote 


12,427 
672 














13,099 


Total returned vote for 


13,430 
733 


12,697 


Deduct Finley's correc- 




















And making a clear ma- 




102 









But this must be still further cor- 
rected as follows : 



Deduct returned vote in Brevard 
County 

Deduct returned vote at No. 3 poll, 
Hamilton County 

And at Fort Christmas poll, Orange 
County 



Total 



222 

136 

30 



74 



145 



Recapitulation. 

Total returned vote for Bisbee 12,427 

Add for Bisbee's corrected vote 672 



Deduct corrected vote of Bisbee 



12,954 



Total returned vote for Finley . . . 13,430 
Deduct corrected vote of 

Finley's ,. 733 

Deduct ditto 388 

1,121 

Leaving a total for Finley of 12,309 

And a majority for Bisbee of . 645 

Now, concede to contestee at the two 
polls of Newnansville and Parker's 
Store, Alachua County, the difference 
between the total returned vote for 
Representative and the votes proved for 
contestant, and 255 votes would be de- 
ducted from Bisbee's majority, leaving 
him 390 majority. And even if the polls 
in Brevard County, No. 3, Hamilton 
County, and Fort Christmas poll, Or- 
ange County, were not rejected, contest- 
ant would still have a majority of 147 
votes. 

In any view of the case founded upon 
the law and the evidence, the contest- 
ant has a majority of the legal votes 
cast. 

Table of Minority Report giving figures 
in support of Finley's Claims tbat 
Finley's majority was 316. 

The following will show the figures 
given in the conclusion of the minority 
report already referred to : 

Finley's official vote 13,430 

Bisbee's official vote 12,427 

Add from Alachua. 88 

Add from Marion 122 

Add from Nassau 2 

Add from Madison 328 

Add from Orange 33 13,000 

Finley's majority 430 

From this may be deducted all other votes 
which there is any proof to show were dis- 
allowed 114 



Leaving Finley's majority. 



316 



By this it will be seen that the minor- 
ity allow the 328 additional votes 



46 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES, 



claimed from Madison County, the ad- 
ditional votes cast in Newnansville and 
Parker's Store poll (all save 2) for con- 
testant and counted for coutestee, 88, 
(twice 44,) being added to Mr. Bisbee's 
vote. Those added for Marion, Nassau, 
Orange, and the 114 generally, embrace 
the 269 stated as tendered and refused 
in what the majority iind. 

It will be seen that the minority do not 
deduct from the vote of Mr. Finley the 
96 votes which the majority find were 
illegal, that they count the return as 
made from the Arredonda poll, to wit, 
172 for contestee and 69 for contestant, 
and adopt the other returns which the 
majority find should be rejected. 

Ballot-box Stuffing and Fraud in Mad- 
ison County— The Returns purged of 
their Fraud. 

In Madison county ballot-box stuffing 
.and fraud were systematically practiced 
r on a large scale. The facts are admitted 
by the minority report. It also concedes 
the 328 additional votes claimed for Mr. 
Bisbee, and in estimating the true re- 
sult of the election these polls were 
simply purged of their fraud. Had 
the whole return been rejected, the 
frauds would have been successful, and 
.the Republican majority of the county 
practically disfranchised. 

{Shot-guns, and Muskets, |and Bowie- 
knives— Bourbon Flection Agents in 
South Carolina — Intimidation and 
violence at Fort Christmas poll. 

At Fort Christmas poll, upon the 
fraudulent return, the vote was, Finley 
30, Bisbee 3. At that poll, ten of these 
thirty valiant Democrats appeared with 
their shot-guns and their muskets, and 
they stacked them near the poll (all save 
one which was taken inside) as a menace; 
and one of these men took position in 
the door- way of the polling-room with 
a large bowie-knife— a ten-inch blade — 
prominent in his belt. There is no evi- 
dence taken to show whether any elec- 
tors were intimidated and went away or 
not without voting. That was not gone 
into. But there is this significant fact, 
they allow in the return only three Re- 
publican votes. Brave and valiant men, 
*to go there thus armed to protect them- 
selves and the.poll against three colored 
Republicans! There must have been 
more to call for such a demonstration. 
JThis poll was ? of course, rejected. 

Bourbon Frauds at the Arredonda Poll 
—Bisbee proves them by Unquestion- 
, .able Testimony — 259 Electors swear 
„_they voted for Bisbee — Only 69 re- 
i turned. 

My. Bisbee, the contestee, called wit- 
nesses to prove that at the Arredonda 



poll there were cast for him 260 votes at 
least. He called 259 electors to prove 
that, each one of whom swore that he 
voted for him, and that another elector 
not called voted for him also. The 
names of the men who so swear are 
down on the poll-list as among those 
who voted, and on the registration list 
as qualified electors. They are men 
who are well known in that precinct, 
having lived there long, if not all their 
lives, had always voted there, and had 
always voted the Republican ticket. 
According to the way in which they, or 
some of them, give their testimony, 
they would have regarded it as almost 
an insult for any one to say that they 
voted any other ticket. And yet only 
69 of them were counted for contestant ! 

Increase of Democratic vote and De- 
crease of Bepublican vote at Arredon- 
da Idle Talk. 

It is idle to talk about the Democratic 
vote having increased from 66 in 1878 to 
172 in 1880, and of the Republican vote 
having correspondingly diminished, 
against the evidence of 259 electors, and 
with nobody else swearing the other 
way or attempting to account for it, or 
to show it except by a return which is 
impeached successfully by this evidence, 
and otherwise controlled. 

Flagrant and Ingenious Fraud at Ar- 
redonda Poll — an old Complaint— 
Every Safeguard provided by Law to 
Protect the Ballot-box and secure an 
honest count Broken Down. 

How did it happen that only 69 votes 
were returned for Mr. Bisbee and 172 
for Mr. Finley / It was by a well- 
planned scheme of flagrant and most 
ingenious fraud. It was not new in 
kind. In another part of this very dis- 
trict the same thing was practiced at a 
previous election. The method of pro- 
ceeding was not patented; so it was 
adopted here. What did they do ? The 
vote was peaceable and quiet ; every- 
body voted who wanted to vote ; there 
was no intimidation; everything was 
fair and smooth on the surface. But 
when the poll was closed, either anoth- 
er box already prepared with con- 
tents was substituted for the box used, 
or the contents of the box used were 
changed by a manipulation skillfully 
executed. That is the only way in which 
to account for the result. And a state- 
ment of the facts proved shows that it 
was done, although there was no direct 
evidence as to the exact time and way 
of its accomplishment. 

The managers of election at this poll 
broke down every safeguard provided 
by law to protect the ballot-box and to 
secure a fair election and an honest 
count. 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



47 



Bourbon violations of the Constitution 
and Laws of Florida at Arredonda 
Poll. 

The minority speak of the violations 
of law being technical. Let us see. 
By the laws of Florida the Republicans 
were entitled to have one inspector at 
least in each precinct who could read 
and write, and if any inspector is absent 
on the day of election the electors pres- 
ent are to choose another to fill the place. 
The person appointed at the Arredon- 
da poll, Ephriam George, was appointed 
against the protest of the Republicans. 
He was a disreputable person, a fugitive 
from justice, and not appearing, his 
father, Virgil George, an intemperate 

Eerson, was selected and put in his place 
y two Democratic inspectors on the 
false pretense that he was the one in- 
tended in the appointment originally. 
He was furnished with spirituous liquor 
at the polls, got drunk, as was contem- 
plated, and proved unfaithful to his 
trust. 

By the statute the Republicans were 
entitled to have admitted inside the poll- 
room a representative of their own 
choice to act as watcher. One was 
chosen, a man of high standing, but 
he was excluded by the Democratic 
managers. 

The statute authorized an adjourn- 
ment only for dinner for one-half hour 
between twelve and one o'clock p. m., 
the box meanwhile to be sealed up and 
kept in possession of an inspector, who 
was not to have the key thereof. An- 
other provision of the statutes reads : 

As soon as the polls of an election snail be 
finally closed the inspectors shall proceed to 
canvass the votes cast at such election, and the 
canvass shall be public, and continued without 
adjournment until completed. 

These wise provisions of law were 
openly violated and for a manifest pur- 
pose. 

Flewellen, one of the Democratic in- 
spectors, and evidently the schemer and 
head -devil in the fraud, had a supper 
previously ordered and ready at a board- 
ing-house about one hundred yards from 
the polling place. 

Infamous Bourbon Frauds at Arre- 
donda Poll — Too Indecent and Fla- 
grant, too Corrupt for any mercy of 
construction. 

The poll closed at sunset. Instead of 
proceeding to canvass the votes at once 
publicly, the inspectors delayed pur- 
posely, and without excuse, until it was 
dark, closed the shutters to conceal the 
box from the public view, waited, doing 
nothing for a half -hour or more, with 
only about 330 votes to count, and then 
adjourned for supper. Nothing was 
done about counting the votes before 
supper. A box was carried to the sup- 



per-room, and a box brought back after- 
ward, opened in a room used as a bar-room 
adjoining the polling-room, and a lot of 
ballots there counted, and the return 
referred to subsequently made. The 
table on which the ballot-box stood 
during the process of polling was a large 
dry-goods box turned openside down. 
There was a door leading from the poll- 
ing-room into an adjoining room. It 
was manifestly well known by the poll- 
list, or by the number of known electors 
at that poll, about how large a vote 
there would be. It was easy to dupli- 
cate the box— there were duplicates in 
existence — as they were made alike. It 
was, therefore, easy to have a prepared 
box ready for substitution, or to have a 
set of ballots ready on hand for substi- 
tuted contents of the ballot-box used, 
either at the house or in the adjoining 
room alluded to, or under the dry-goods 
box used as a table. 

All hands agree that some eighty per- 
sons followed clamoring when the ad- 
journment was made, but they were 
not let into the boarding-house. 

In the words of another, " there was 
a most indecent and flagrant violation 
of duty, too palpable for blunders, too 
corrupt for any mercy of construction." 

Bisbee takes Testimony within the Le- 
gal time — Bourbons expel his attor- 
ney engaged in taking Testimony— 
Bourbons raise Hades in the District — 
U. S. Judge and Marshal powerless to 
suppress the Disorder. 

It was also charged in the debate in 
the House that the contestant (Bisbee) 
was allowed by the committee to take 
testimony out of the time prescribed for 
the obtaining of evidence in the case. 
In reply, Mr. Bisbee, the contestant, said : 

" I desire to say that all the testimony 
which I took was taken within the 
ninety days. He [Mr. McMillin] says 
I took the testimony during the last ten 
days which ought to have been taken 
during the first forty. In answer to 
that I will state to the House and the 
country what the contestee well knows 
— that his friends and supporters in 
Madison County raised there what has 
been left out of the revised edition of 
the New Testament. 

"They drove my officer and my attor- 
ney out of that county. The Depart- 
ment of Justice sent a United States 
judge and marshal there, but they could 
not check the disturbance and proceed 
with the evidence. The excitement 
and turmoil and civil commotion extend- 
ed over the whole district. He knows, 
if he knows anything about the ease, 
and I judge from his argument that he 
does not, that that is the reason I did not 
take the testimony during the first forty 
day 8. Will any man of common sense 
suppose I delayed the taking of any 



48 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



testimony until the last ten days, thus 
running the risk of having it ruled out, 
if I could have taken it during the first 
forty days? 

"Such a state of things existed, Mr. 
Speaker, that I could get no attorney to 
go outside of Duval County to take the 
testimony, and while I was. here occu- 
pying a seat on this floor I sent an attor- 
ney from the city of Washington in 
order to do it." 

Bourbons perpetrate every Crime 
known to the Laws-Armed Masked 
Men stop and invade Railroad trains, 
and release Prisoners and Subpoenaed 
witnesses in charge of U.S. Marshals— 
the District honeycombed with Fraud 
and Crime. 

The contestant thus briefly describes 
the systematic outrages and the violent 
crimes by which the contestee secured 
the fraudulent majority counted for him 
by the Democratic Returning Boards of 
Florida: , ,. „ 

"Mr. Speaker, this record discloses 
that the supporters of the contestee 
have committed every crime known to 
the election laws of Florida and to the 
national election laws in this contest at 
that election. In Columbia County, in 
Putnam County, in Orange County they 
arrested men while at the polls to vote ; 
these same Democrats, supporters of the 
idea advanced here but a year and a 
half ago, that if a deputy marshal was 
permitted to be at the poll, even to rep- 
serve the peace, the liberties of this 
country were in danger. 

"And yet here a deputy sheriff, without 
a warrant, with out any charge against 
them, took men away from the polls 
while in the act of depositing their bal- 
lots. Two men in Putnam County were 
arrested, taken away from the polls, 
and soon after the election they were 
released. So it was in Orange County. 
At one of the polls in Orange County 
the officers of the election made a rul- 
ing excluding every man from voting 
whose name was not on the registration 
list. Some Republicans went home who 
were denied the right to swear in their 
votes, which the Taw commanded the 
election officers to allow them to do. 
After those men had gone home, some 
Democrats came up whose names were 
not on the registration list, and the elec- 
tion officers reversed their ruling and 
allowed them to vote. 

"In the county of Madison, not only 
did they debauch the ballot-box and 
revel in fraud, but they entered into a 
conspiracy to prevent the frauds they 
had committed from being exposed. 
They did that not only by threatening 
the voters, but by going on the railroad 
trains with masks and with arms, stop- 
ping the trains and releasing by force 
the prisoners who were in the hands of 



the deputy marshal and the witnesses 
who had been subpoenaed to attend the 
Federal court. Language is in adequate 
to describe the condition of things in 
that county, the influence of which 
spread like wild fire all over the whole 
district. Yet gentlemen pretend that 
this was a fair and honest election. Al- 
though in this case, as in others, it was 
honeycombed all through with fraud, 
yet gentlemen come here and claim, 
without a twinge of conscience or a 
blush of shame, that this was an honest 
election. 

"Mr. Speaker, there are other points in 
this case that I should like to discuss, 
but time will not permit. It is said by 
the gentleman from Texas that you 
ought to retain my opponent in his seat 
as an olive-brancn of peace to the De- 
mocracy of the South. Sir, this House 
ought to be just at all times. If my 
opponent had shown that he was elected, 
or if I had not shown that I was elected, 
I would not ask to be seated." 

House seats Mr. Bisbee— Yeas and Nays. 

The SPEAKER. The question is upon 
agreeing to the resolutions reported 
from the Committee on Elections, which 
the Clerk will read. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Resolved, That Jesse J. Finley was not elected 
as a Representative to the Forty-seventh Con- 

?ress from the second Congressional district of 
lorida. and is not entitled to the seat. 
Resolved, Tfcat Horatio Bisbee, jr., was duly 
elected as a Representative from the second 
Congressional district of Florida to the Forty- 
seventh Congress, and is entitled to his seat as 
such. 

The yeas and nays were ordered. 

The question was taken, and there 
were— yeas 141, nays 0, not voting 141 ; 
as follows : 

YEAS HI.— Aldrich, Anderson, Barr, Bayne.Bing- 
ham, Bowman, Brewer, Briggs, Browne. Buck, 
Burrows (Julius C), Butterworth, Calkins, Camp, 
Campbell, Cannon, Carpenter, Caswell, Chace, 
Cornell, Crapo, Crowley, Cullen, Cutis, Darrell, 
Davis (George R.), Dawes, Deering, DeMotte, Dezen- 
dorf, Dingley, Dunnell, Dwight, Errett, Farweli 
(Charles B.), Farweli (Sewell S.), Fisher. George, 
Godshalk, Grout, Guenther, Hall, Hammond 
(John), Harmer, Harris (Benj. W.), Haskell, Hawk, 
Hazleton, Heilman, Henderson, Hepburn, Hill, 
Hiscock, Horr.Houk, Hubbeli, Hubbs, Humphrey, 
Jacobs, Jadwin, Jones (Phineas), Jorgensen, Joyce, 
Kelley, Ketcham, Lacey, Lewis, Lord, Lynch, 
Mackey, Marsh, Mason, McClure, McCoid, Mc- 
Cook, McKinley, Miles, Miller, Moore, Morey, 
Neale, Norcross, O'Neill, Orth, Pacheco, Page, Par- 
ker, Payson, Peelle, Pierce, Pettibone, Pound, Pres- 
cott, Ranney, Ray, Reed, Rice (John B.). Rice 
(William W.), Rich, Richardson (D. P.), Ritchie, 
Robeson, Robinson (George D.), Robinson (James 
S.), Russell. Ryan, Shallenberger, Sherwin, 
Shultz. Skinner, Smith (A. Herr), Smith (Dietrich 
C), Smith (J. Hyatt), Spaulding, Spooner, Steele, 
Stone, Strait, Taylor, Thomas, Thompson (Wm. 
G.), Townsend, (Amos,) Tyler, Updegraff f J. T.), 
Updegraff (Thomas), Urner, Van Aernam, Van 
Horn, Van Voorhis, Wadsworth, Wait, Walker, 
Ward, Washburn, Watson, Webber, West, White, 
Williams (Chas. G.), Willets, Wood (Walter A). 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



49= 



NAYS 9.— Burrows (Jos. H), Ford, Fulknson, Har- 
denJburgh, Hazeltine, Holman, Jones {George W.), 
Paul, Rice ( Theron M). 

NOT VOTING 138— Aiken, Armfield, Atherion, At- 
kins, Barber, Beach, Belford, Belmont, Betzhoover, 
Berry, Black, Blackburn, Blanchard, Band, Bliss, 
Blount, Bragg, Brumm, Buchanan, Buckner, Cubd., 
Caldwell, Candler, Carlisle, Cassidy, Chapman, Cla. dy, 
Clark, Clements, Cobb, Colerick, Converse, Cook, Cox 
(Samuel S.), Cox (William R.), Covington, Cravens, 
Culberson, Curlin, Davidson, Davis (Lowndes H.), 
Deuster, Dibtyrell, Dowd, Dugrow, Dunn, Ellis, Ermen- 
trout, Evins, Finley, Flower, Forney, Frost, Garrison, 
Geddes, Gibson, Gunte<\ Hammond (X. J.), Hardy, 
Hair is, (Henry S.), Hatch, Herbert, Her ndon, Hewitt 
(Abram S.), Hewitt (G. W.), Hoblitzell, Hoge, Hjoker, 
House, Hutchins, Jones (Jas. K.), Kasson, Kenna, 
King, Klotz, Knott, Ladd, Latham, Leedom, Le Fevre, 
Lindsey, Manning, Martin, Matson, McKcnzie, Mc- 
Lane, McMdlin, Muls. Money, Morrison, Morse, Mos- 
grove, Moulton, Muldrow, Murch, Mutchler, Nolan, 
Oates, Phelps. Phister, Randall, Reagan, Richardson 
(John's.), Robertson, Robinson (Wm. E.), Rosecrans, 
Ross, Scale*, Scoville, Scranton, Shackle/ord, Shelley, 
Simonton, Singleton (Jas. W.), Singleton (Otho R.), 
Sparks, Speer, Springer, Stephens, Stockslager, TaJbolt, 
Thompson (P. B.), Tdlman. Townshend (R. W.), Tucker, 
Turner(Henry G.), Turner (Oscar), Upson, Valentine, 
Vance, Warner, Wellborn, Wheeler, Whitthorne, Wil- 
liams (Thomas), Willis, Wilson, Wise (Geo. D.), Wise 
(Morgan R.), Wood (Benjamin), Young. 

So the resolutions reported by the 
Committee on Elections were adopted" 



PART VI. 
Smalls vs. Tillman. 

History of the Case. 

At the general election held in No- 
yember, 1880, in the Fifth Congres- 
sional District of South Carolina, (com- 
prising the counties of Colleton, Beau- 
fort, Barnwell, Edgefield, Aiken, and 
Hampton,) George U. Tillman (Demo- 
crat) and Robert Smalls (Republican) 
were the candidates for a seat in the 
Forty-seventh Congress. The aggre- 
gate vote on the face of the returns 
was— for Tillman, 23,325; for Smalls, 
15,287— majority for Tillman, 8,038. Mr. 
Tillman received the certificate of elec- 
tion. Mr. Smalls at once took the nec- 
essary legal steps to contest Mr. Till- 
man's right to a seat in the House of the 
Forty- seventh Congress. 

The Election L.aws and Machinery of 
South Carolina. 

The election law of South Carolina in 
force at the time of this election was 
ouite ample in its provisions, easily un- 
derstood, and, if strictly followed by 
the officers of election, furnished every 
facility for detecting frauds and cor- 
recting errors if any were committed. 
It provided for a State board of can- 
vassers, consisting of certain State of- 
ficers; a board of three commissioners 
of elections for each county in the State, 
who were to be appointed by the gov- 
ernor, and a board of three managers 
for each election precinct, to be appoint- 
ed by the county commissioners. The 
precinct managers were authorized to 



employ a clerk, who was required by 
law to keep a poll-list containing the 
names of all persons who voted in the 
precinct. At the close of each election 
the precinct managers and their clerk 
are commanded to immediately proceed 
to open the box, count the ballots, and 
continue such count without adjourn- 
ment until the same is completed, and 
make and sign such a statement thereof 
as the nature of the election shall re- 
quire. If in couuting two or more like 
ballots shall be found folded together 
only one shall be counted, the other de- 
stroyed, but if they bear different names 
they shall both be destroyed and not 
counted. If the ballots in the box ex- 
ceed the names on the poll list, they 
shall be returned to the box, mixed to- 
gether, and one of the managers or 
clerk, without seeing the ballots, shall 
draw from the box and immediately de- 
stroy as many ballots as those in the 
box exceed the names upon the poll- 
list. 

Within three days thereafter the 
chairman or one of the board, to be des- 
ignated in writing by said board, shall 
deliver to the county commissioners of 
elections the poll-list, the box containing 
the ballots, and a written statement of 
the result of the election in the precinct. 
The county commissioners of elections 
shall meet at the county-seat, organize 
their board on the Tuesday next fol- 
lowing the election, and proceed to can- 
vass the statements of the several boards 
of managers. They shall make such 
statements thereof as the nature of the 
electiou shall require, within ten days 
after their organization, and shall make 
separate statements of the whole num- 
ber of votes given in such county for 
Representative to Congress, a copy of 
which shall be transmitted to the gov- 
ernor, secretary of state, and the comp- 
troller-general. Immediately after the 
final adjournment of the county board 
the chairman thereof shall forward, ad- 
dressed to the governor and secretary 
of state, by a messenger, the returns, 
poll-lists, and any protests and all pa- 
pers pertaining to such election. 

Precinct Returns and Poll-lists de- 
stroyed as a means of Concealing 1 the 
Frauds in the Election or Tillinan's 
returned vote. 

In this contest when the secretary of 
state was called upon for copies of 
the election returns and poll-lists for 
this district he replied that there were 
no poll-lists or precinct returns of votes 
. cast at that election sent to his office 
from the counties of Edgefield, Barn- 
well, and Colleton. 

Why were not these oapers sent, filed, 
and preserved, and why did these of- 
ficers neglect this plain' and important 
duty ? If these papers were in existence 
to-day they would furnish evidence 



30 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



conclusive and overwhelming of the 
fairness and legality of the election 
in this district and thus vindicate the 
election officers, or they would es- 
tablish beyond question the truth of 
the charge of frauds and rascalities 
-and identify and expose to public 
view the officers by whom they were 
perpetrated. The plain and impera- 
tive provisions of the law required those 
papers to be made and forwarded, and 
a faithful discharge of official duty de- 
manded a strict compliance with its pro- 
visions. 

We can conceive of no object or pur- 
pose for this neglect unless it was to 
cover up and conceal the frauds which 
had been committed and prevent their 
discovery by the suppression or destruc- 
tion of this important evidence. 
Color Line in politics strictly drawn in 
South Carolina— Colored voters all Re- 
publicans — targe Colored majority 
in Fifth Congressional District, 

In no Southern State is the color 
line in politics more strictly drawn 
than in the State of South Carolina. 
In every county in that State the col- 
ored people are recognized as Repub- 
licans. Li the fifth Congressional dis- 
trict there were 14,394 whites and 27,262 
colored males who were twenty-one 
years of age and over. Here was a 
clear majority of 12,968 in favor of the 
contestant. Not one spark of testi- 
mony was produced before the com- 
mittee to show how, by any fair and le- 
gitimate means, that could have been 
-changed into 8,038 majority for the 
/contestee. 

Colored People, when unintimidated, 
vote the Republican Ticket. 
The evidence in this record shows what 
every intelligent man in the country 
knows, that the colored people vote for 
the Republican ticket. They regard that 
party as the party that gave them their 
freedom and bestowed upon them the 
rights of citizenship,and when left to vote 
as they choose, unawed by fear, they are 
faithful to the Republican party as they 
were faithful to the Union cause during 
the late war, and the persecutions and 
the outrages that have been visited upon 
them since their emancipation have 
driven them together more closely and 
increased their devotion and loyalty to 
that party. 

Relative Colored and White vote in 
Aiken County from Census of 1S80— 
Proofs of Bourbon Frauds in Till- 
man's returned vote. 

In the county of Aiken the census of 
1880— the year when this election was 
held— shows that the white males of 
twenty-one years of age and upward, 
including native-born and foreign, were 
2,873; colored males of the same age, 



3,112; making an aggregate of 5,985 
white and colored, native-born and for- 
eign, of voting age. The vote, as certi- 
fied by the secretary of state in his re- 
turn, and upon that return the contes- 
tee's credentials were based, gives the 
vote for Mr. Tillman as 4,980 and of Mr. 
Smalls 1,467, making an aggregate of 
6,447 claimed to have been cast at that 
election, showing an excess of votes 
over the voting population in that 
county of 462 ; and the evidence in this 
case shows conclusively that 414 citizens 
were deprived of the right of suffrage, 
which, added to the excess of 462, would 
increase the vote to 876 above the voting 
population of the county. 

Another remarkable feature deducible 
from these figures is that if Mr. Tillman 
received the vote which was credited to 
him in the State canvass he must have 
received the votes of every white male 
voter in the county, with 2,107 colored 
votes in addition. 

Relative Colored and White vote in 
Barnwell County from the Census ol 
1880— Proofs of Bourbon Frauds in 
Tillman's vote as returned. 

In Barnwell County the census of 1880 
gives the voting population : white, 
3,131 ; colored, 4,775 ; total, 7,906. The 
returns of votes for this county were as 
follows: Tillman, 5,422 ; Smalls, 2,445; 
total, 7,867; lacking only 39 votes of the 
entire voting population of the county; 
while the evidence in this case shows 
that there were beyond all controversy 
1,148 voters who were deprived of the 
right of suffrage, which, added to the 
vote as counted, would show an excess 
of votes over voters in this county of 
1,117. If Mr. Tillman's vote is correctly 
stated in the returns from this county 
he must have received the entire white 
vote of the county besides 2,391 votes 
from the colored voters. 

Relative Colored and White vote in 
Colleton County from Census of 1880— 
Further proofs of Bourbon Frauds in 
Tillman's vote as returned. 

In the county of Colleton the voting 
population by the census of 1880 was: 
white males, 2,706; colored, 5,173; total, 
7,879. By the return of votes Mr. 
Tillman received 3,475 votes in this 
county and Mr. Smalls 2,776; a total of 
6,251, or 1,628 less than the entire voting 
population. The record discloses that 
many voters were disfranchised, 618 
cast in Jacksonville precinct not counted, 
276 in Horsepen precinct, 700 in Suni- 
merville, and in other precincts hun- 
dreds were deprived of the right to 
vote, the exact number of which cannot 
be accurately ascertained, but a number 
sufficiently large which if added to the 
vote counted would show that the vote 
far exceeds the voting population of the 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



51 



county. A comparison of these figures 
alone shows that for Mr. Tillman to 
have received the vote counted and cer- 
tified for him he must have received 
the entire white vote and 769 colored. 
Relative Colored and White vote in 
Edgefield County from the Census of 
1880— Still further proofs of Bourbon 
Frauds in Tillman's vote as returned. 

In the county of Edgefield the voting 
population of the census returns was as 
follows: white males, twenty-one years 
of age and over, 3,553; colored, 5,648 ; 
a total of 9,201. The vote, as counted 
by the State board, for Mr- Tillman was 
45,467; for Mr. Smalls, 1,046; a total of 
7,543, or 1,688 less than the voting pop- 
ulation. But the record evidence in 
this case proves beyond a question that 
in the county of Edgefield, in the various 
precincts, 3,020 legal voters were de- 
prived of the light of suffrage by in- 
timidation and violence. This, if ad- 
ded to the vote counted, would show 
the excess of votes over voters to be 
1,332. 

Now, if Mr. Tillman's vote is correctly 
stated at 6,467 he must have received in 
addition to the votes of every white 
male voter in the district the votes of 
2,914 colored voters, a proposition which 
no man in his senses will believe. 

Relative Colored and White vote in 
Hampton County from the Census of 
1880 —Additional proofs of Bourbon 
Frauds in Tillman's returned vote. 

In Hampton County, by the census of 
1880, the white males over twenty-one 
years of age were 1,381; colored, 2,447; 
total, 3,828. The vote as returned by 
the secretary of state was ; for Tillman, 
2,590; Smalls, 1,575; total, 4,165, show- 
ing an excess of votes over voters in the 
county of 337; and the record evidence 
in this case shows that in this county 
hundreds of colored men were deprived 
of the right of suffrage. If the vote for 
Mr. Tillman was properly returned and 
counted he must have received in addi- 
tion to the entire white vote 1,209 votes 
from the colored voters. 

Relative aggregate Colored and 
White Toting Population in the Fifth 
Congressional District— Xo Eloquence 
or Rhetoric can add Force to the Fig- 
ures' Story of Fraud. 

The census shows the aggregate vo- 
ting population in these five counties to 
be as follows: White, 13,644; colored, 
21,155; total, 34,799. The vote as re- 
turned by the State board and counted 
was 37,622, and the voters who were de- 
prived of the right to vote in these five 
counties, and the votes not counted in 
precincts where they were cast, are 4,- 
525, showing an excess of votes over vo- 
ters on the returns as made of 7,348. In 



these five counties the white voters 
were 13,644, Mr. Tillman's vote 22,935, 
and if Mr. Tillman received the vote 
with which he has been credited he must 
have received the votes of 9,291 colored 
voters. 

It is unnecessary to dwell upon these 
statistics; they speak for themselves. 
No eloquence or rhetoric can add force 
or weight to their story. They must be 
sufficient to convince any fair-minded 
man that the vote returned for Mr. Till- 
man from these five counties and upon 
which his credentials were based was the 
result of frauds of the most stupendous 
character. 

Aiken County— Vote of County as Cor- 
rected by House Committee on Elec- 
tions. 

The corrections and changes made by 
the committee in Aiken County are as 
follows : 

Tillman's 4,980 

Deduct Aiken Court-House .... 719 

Deduct Silverton 225 

Deduct Creed's Store 231 

Deduct Windsor 396 

1,571 



Smalls' 

Deduct Aiken Court-House 

Deduct Silverton 

Deduct Creed's Store 

Deduct Windsor 



1,467 



409 



1,058 



Tillman's majority 2,35! 

Rioting and Fraud at Aiken Court- 
House and throughout Aiken County 
—Polls Barricaded against the Repub- 
lican Toters — Brutal and Bloody As- 
saults—Cayenne Pepper Thrown into 
the Eyes of Republicans —The Pal- 
metto Rifles Support the Bourbon 
Ruffians at the Polls— Cannon Trained 
on Republicans— Republicans Stabbed 
and Whipped with Switches. 

This poll was properly rejected by the 
committee. The evidence in regard to 
the proceedings at this poll is quite vol- 
uminous and from the lips of eight or 
ten persons who witnessed them. A 
barricade was erected in front of the 
poll, the north end intended to be the 
place of entrance and the south end the 
place of exit. A large number of Re- 
publican voters congregated around the 
north end, but were not permitted to 
enter, the Democrats holding sticks 
across the entrance to prevent them; 
while the whites entered the southern 
end, intended for the exit, without ob- 
jection. Colored men attempted to go 
there, but were driven back. A large 
number of colored Republicans stood 
all day long attempting to reach the box 
to deposit their tickets, and at the close 
of the polls 400 Republicans went away 
without voting. 

About nine o'clock in the forenoon a 



52 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



riot was inaugurated, a number of Re- 
publicans in the crowd were cut, and 
Cayenne pepper was thrown in the eyes 
of the Republican voters gathered at the 
end of the barricade guarded by Demo- 
cratic sentinel aforesaid. 

The Palmetto Rifles, carrying arms, 
were marched to the polls, and a cannon 
was trained upon a body of Republican 
voters. At this precinct an aged colored 
man, when attempting to vote, was 
brutally stabbed in the breast, and the 
scar is still there from the wound which 
was made by the red-shirter's knife. 
At Summer Hill fraudulent ballots were 
stuffed into the box, a Republican 
speaker beaten by the crowd, and but 
one Republican permitted to vote. At 
Windsor the life of the Republican bal- 
lot vender was threatened ; he was com- 
pelled to leave, and no ballots were al- 
lowed to be distributed. At Hanker- 
ton's Store the box was stuffed with 
fraudulent ballots, and the clerk, who 
was keeping a list, was dragged from 
the poll and whipped with switches till 
he bled. At Creed's Store the lives of 
colored voters were threatened, and 
fraudulent votes put in the box. At 
Kneece's Mill a Democrat took from a 
Republican supervisor his poll list and 
destroyed it. At Jordan's Mill the Re- 
publican supervisor was not permitted 
to see the box opened before voting 
commenced. Now, the law of South 
Carolina requires that the box should 
be publicly opened, and opened, too, in 
the presence of the supervisor, who goes 
there to protect the rights of the mi- 
nority ; or, in this case, perhaps, to pro- 
tect particularly the rights of the colored 
voters ; so that if there should be any 
attempt in advance to crowd the box 
with tissue ballots or fraudulent votes, 
as was done throughout the district, 
the supervisor would have an opportu- 
nity to observe and guard against such 
fraudulent practices of that kind. 

Barnwell County — Corrected Vote of 
County. 

The changes made in Barnwell coun- 
ty from the vote as returned and counted 
by the State board are as follows : 

Tillman's vote as returned by 

State board 5,422 

Deduct Allendale 700 

Deduct votes illegally drawn 

at Ferril's store 22 

722 
Leaves Tillman' vote . . 4,700 

Smalls' vote as returned by 
State board 2,445 

Add vote not counted at Fer- 
ril's store 22 

2,467 
Deduct Allendale 36 

Making Smalls' vote 2,431 

And Tillman's majority 2,269 



Bourbon Ruffians armed and in Red 
Shirts Bulldoze the Republican Vot- 
ers of Barnwell County— the U. S. Su- 
pervisor, Refusing- to Sign the Fraud- 
ulent Returns, is Forced to Flee from 
the County— Barnwell the Bloody 
Scene in 1876 of the Murderous Ellen- 
ton Riots. 

In^the county of Barnwell, Allendale 
precinct was the only one rejected, and 
that because the evidence sustained the 
claim of the contestant that the violence 
and intimidation at this poll drove away 
Republican voters and prevented them 
from casting their ballots. 

Allendale is a strong Republican pre- 
cinct. The vote counted and returned 
was 700 for Tillman, 36 for Smalls. The 
evidence shows that a large number of 
Republicans assembled with the Repub- 
lican tickets in their hands, variously 
estimated from three hundred to five 
hundred. Two hundred and fifty, be- 
ing all members of one Republican club, 
were there together for the purpose of 
voting. A crowd of Democrats,' some 
of them armed and clothed in red shirts, 
kept at the door and on the piazza, thus 
obstructing the passage to the voting 
place. If a colored man attempted to 
enter he was asked what ticket he in- 
tended to vote, and if he would reply, 
"the Republican ticket," he was boldly 
told he could not vote that ticket there. 
He was pushed from the piazza, spat 
upon, beaten, and knocked down by 
these men who had possession of the 
passage-way to the polls. 

In the early part of the day assurances 
were given that the colored men could 
vote after twelve o'clock, but they met 
with the same obstructions and the 
same brutal treatment after that hour 
as before. The United States supervi- 
sor attempted to keep a poll-list; it was 
impossible to keep it accurately, and he 
abandoned it about one p. m. He was 
requested to sign the poll-list and re- 
turn that night by the Democrats, but 
refused to do so. A crowd of Demo- 
crats visited his house about one o'clock 
on that night and demanded that he 
should get up and sign the list, but he 
refused ; then they cursed, threatened 
to break down his door, and shot around 
his house, alarming his family. The 
next night these same things were re- 
peated, and he concluded, for his own 
safety, it was advisable for him to leave, 
and he did so, remaining away several 
weeks. The evidence as to this pre- 
cinct shows, beyond contradiction, that 
a fair and honest vote did not take 
place, and the poll should be rejected. 

At FerrilFs Store, when the votes 
were counted, there were found to be in 
the box 22 votes in excess of the names 
upon the poll-list, and in drawing out 
the excess the manager was not blind- 
folded but looked into the box and 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



53 



drew out 22 Republican votes. The 
officers at this precinct were all Demo- 
crats, and, from the evidencethe fraud- 
ulent votes were Democratic votes. To 
purify this poll and to correct the fraud 
perpetrated in drawing out the excess, 
22 votes should be takeu from the con- 
testee and the same number added to 
the contestant. 

This county was the theatre of the 
Ellenton riot, which shocked the Amer- 
ican people by its atrocities in 1876, and 
the colored people are still haunted by 
its memories, and live in constant fear 
of its repetition. So strong- and intense 
is this feeling- that they hardly dare act, 
speak, or think as independent freemen. 
It pervades to a greater or less extent 
the precincts of Robbins, Millitts, Mix- 
on 's Mills, Allendale, Baldock, Barker's 
Mills, Williston, Elko, and Buford's 
Bridge. At Barker's Mills and Mixon's 
Mills the two political parties are about 
of equal strength ; all the others named 
are strong Republican precincts. 

Red-shirted Bourbon Ruffians at Night 
prior to Election rode throug-h Barn- 
well County, making- Xig-ht Hideous 
with Hellish Orgies, firing guns, as- 
saulting the Cabins of and Shooting 
Colored Voters— The South Carolina 
Plan— Colored Voters Intimidated and 
Disfranchised— Bourbon Ruffians de- 
clare, " B a m n e d few Republicans 
polled to-day "— " Give them Hell ! "— 
IT. S. Supervisor Menaced with Beath. 

At the election in 1880 this condition of 
the colored people seems to have been 
thoroughly understood. For several 
nights prior to the election the red- 
shirted Democracy rode around through 
many of the precincts, making the night 
hideous with their hellish orgies, firing 
guns and pistols, knocking at the cabins 
of the colored men, and making threats 
of various kinds, for the purpose of pre- 
venting them from voting the Republi- 
can ticket. Colored men on the way to 
the polls at Red Oak precinct, within 
half a mile of that place, were met by 
eighteen armed men, who shot among 
them or over them, and the colored men 
fled in different directions, some of them 
sleeping in the woods for several nights. 
The night before they visited the house 
of Mr. GifTord and broke down the door, 
and threatened, if he went ten steps 
from his house, they would shoot him 
as they had Simon P. Coke. By such 
threats as these the neighborhood was 

greatly alarmed, and many of the voters 
ared not attempt to exercise the right 
of suffrage. 

At Graham's the train from Augusta 
brought down a crowd of Democrats 
armed with pistols, cursing and yelling ; 
all voted, one of them three or four 
times. At Elko, on the day of election, 
the red-shirted Democracy were out in 



great numbers, armed .with pistols, and 
the Healing Springs Democratic club 
came, yelling and cursing as they came 
up. The object of these demonstrations 
was to alarm the colored voters, and it 
succeeded, as but few A T oted, and the 
statement of Mr. Nixon, one of the 
Democratic managers, that there would 
be "d — d few Republican votes polled 
there that day," proved to be literally 
true. At Balaock the red-shirters were 
out Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 
nights prior to the election, riding up 
and down, cursing, and discharging 
guns and pistols, openly proclaiming 
that they were "going to keep the d— a 
Republicans away from the polls and 
give them hell." 

On Saturday night before the election 
they left a coffin, cut from pasteboard, 
at the house of Mr. Gill, United States 
supervisor, which had the following per- 
suasive inscription upon it : 

Alex. GUI, if you don't quit your way 6 and join 
the Democracy you shall be in clay in a few- 
days. 

Colleton County— Corrected Vote of 
County. 

The committee made the following 
corrections in the vote of Colleton 
County : 

Tillman's vote as returned by State 

board of canvassers 3,475 

Deduct Walteiborough 90 

3,385 

Smalls' vote as returned by State 

board of canvassers 2,776 

Add Jacksonburgh . 618 

Add Horse Pen 276 

Add Walterborough 90 

3,760 

Smalls' majority 375 

The changes in this county were to'count 
the vote at Jacksonborough and Horse 
Pen, which were illegally rejected by 
the county and State canvassers, and 
deduct 90 votes from the contestee at 
Waiterborough precinct and credit the 
contestant with a like amount. This 
was one of the counties in which there 
were no precinct returns and poll-lists 
sent up by the county canvassers to the 
State board of canvassers, and in which 
the statement of the State board was 
made in the aggregate and not by pre- 
cincts. The committee, therefore, was 
compelled to resort to the testimony of 
persons present to ascertain the neces- 
sary facts. 

Violence, Intimidation, and Fraud 
ruled throughout Colleton County- 
Cheating- attained its Acme at Jack- 
sonborough— Heavy fruuds in favor of 
Tillman. 

While fraud, violence, and intimida- 
tion was the rule and a peaceable elec- 
tion the exception at the great majority 
of the polls in this district, the very 



54 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



acme of cheating was attained at the 
precinct of Jackson borough. In this 
locality there had originally been five 
precincts to accommodate the large num- 
ber of voters living in that vicinity. 
Three of these precincts had been abol- 
ished by the Legislature of the State, 
which compelled all the voters in that 
vicinity to go to Grl over sville and Jack- 
sonborough. The managers of these polls 
were all Democrats, and evidently bv a 
preconcerted plan between the commis- 
sioners of election and the managers of 
these two precincts the poll was not 
opened at Glovers ville, and the smallest 
sized box recognized by the law was 
sent to the Jacksonborough precinct. 
The election here was quiet, and every 
person, without distinction of color, was 
permitted to vote. 

Large numbers were necessarily driv- 
en to this poll by the abolition of the 
three boxes above referred to and the 
refusal to open the poll at Gloversville. 
By one o'clock in the afternoon the 
Democratic managers of election an- 
nounced that the box which had been 
furnished them by the commissioners 
was full, and that as a necessity the 
polls must be closed. To this the Re- 
publican United States supervisor pro- 
tested, and urged that another box be 
used for the purpose of receiving the 
ballots of those present and of others 
who would necessarily be compelled to 
report at this poll on account of the 
Gloversville poll not having been 
opened. The managers, however, be- 
ing in control, peremptorily closed it 
and refused to receive any further 
votes. On the request of the Repub- 
lican United States supervisor that the 
ballots be counted C and his record showed 
that 618 persons had voted) the commis- 
sioners, well knowing that but few, if 
any, Democratic votes other than their 
own had been deposited in the box, re- 
fused to count them on the ground that 
they had no authority to do so, the poll 
having been closed before the legal 
time, six o'clock p. m. 

In accordance therewith, and against 
the protest of the United States super- 
visor, the box, with the statement of 
the managers why it was closed and the 
reason it was not counted, was sent to 
the county canvassers, and a Mr. Holmes, 
the only Republican on the board of 
election commissioners, testified that 
this precinct was rejected r because the 
poll had been closed before 'six p. m. 

The evidence further shows that the 
contestant lost between 300 and 400 
votes by the failure of the managers to 
open the Gloversville poll, and between 
600 and 700 votes by the failure to open 
the Summerville poll; and that fully 
100 vote* in addition to the 618 votes 
heretofore referred to were lost to the 
contestant by illegally closing the poll 
at Jacksonborough. 



Lawlessness and Violence reigned Su- 
preme throughout Edgefield County— 
The Grossest Frauds Perpetrated— Red 
Shirt Bourbon Ruffians, Armed with 
Guns and Pistols, patrolled the streets, 
Firing-, Yelling, and Assaulting Re- 
publican Voters— The only Poll in 
Court-House Building Guarded by 
Armed Bourbon Ruffians- Other Dem- 
ocratic Roughs Armed with Stones and 
Brickbats swarmed Outside— Repub- 
licans in Attempting to Vote subjected 
to all manner of Personal Violence, 
Scoffs and Jeers— Edgefield the Bloody 
Scene of the Hamburg Massacre of 
1876— The Colored Voters, remember- 
ing the Hamburg and Ellenton Mas- 
sacres, were Intimidated — 2,000 Re- 
publican Voters Disfranchised. 

A spirit of lawlessness and violence 
seemed to reign supreme in this entire 
county, and the grossest election frauds 
were committed in various election pre- 
cincts. Edgefield Court-House w ( as the 
most important precinct in the county. 

At this place, above all others, being 
the home of one of the United States 
Senators from that State, we would nat- 
urally have expected a free vote and a 
fair count. Owing to the threats which 
the colored Republicans had heard in 
that county prior to the election, and 
remembering the massacres of Ham- 
burg and Ellenton in 1876, they deter- 
mined as largely as possible to assemble 
at Edgefield Court-House to vote on No- 
vember 2, 1880. Under the law of South 
Carolina a legal voter can vote at any 
precinct in the county. In accordance 
with this, on the night previous to the 
November election, large bodies of the 
colored voters of Edgefield County com- 
menced congregating at Edgefield, and 
by early morning of November 2 from 
2,000 to 2,500 colored voters are estimated 
to have been present. 

A prior formed purpose to disregard 
the law in order to defeat the rights of 
the majority was boldly carried out. A 
crowd of mounted men, attired in red 
shirts, armed with pistols or other weap- 
ons, rode to and fro through the streets, 
discharging fire-arms, yelling, and re- 
sorting to other methods calculated to 
intimidate the colored voters. 

The polls were held in the court-room 
up stairs. The doors were double, each 
eighteen inches wide; one was open, 
the other securely fastened. This en- 
trance was under a Democratic guard 
and a hundred or more Democrats 
flanked the stairway and approaches 
thereto, and the colored Republican who 
had the temerity to pass through was 
the subject of scoffs and .jeers, insults 
and personal injuries on his way to the 
poll, finding his clothing cut upon his 
escape from the crowd. The porch oyer 
the outside entrance swarmed with 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



55 



Democrats armed with stones and brick- 
bats. 

The Edgefield Rifles, a Military Com- 
pany, formed Opposite the Poll— Bour- 
bon Chairman of Democratic County 
Committee early Ordered the Rifles to 
the Poll— Same Bourbon Chairman 
Ordered Other Armed Democratic 
Clubs to the Poll— Capt. Wise, with his 
Armed Company, Voluntarily Re- 
ported at Edgefield— Old Bourbon Cry 
•• Xo Military Interference at the 
Polls "—Military Ordered to Poll be- 
cause the Republicans " could not 
Stand the Sight of Fire-arms "—Such 
an Election Farce a Travesty on Amer- 
ican Institutions. 

Just across the street from the poll- 
ing place was the armorv of the Edge- 
field Rifles, a State military company. 
Early in the day D. R. Durisoe, the 
chairman of the Democratic county 
committee, ordered Captain St. Julien 
Bland, who was in command of this 
military company, to call his company 
together and assemble at the armory 
forthwith, which he did, the company 
meeting just across the street from the 
polling place, armed and fully equipped. 
In addition to this, this same Demo- 
cratic county chairman sent messengers 
to Landraum's store, Trenton, John- 
ston's, and Cheatam's store for detach- 
ments of other armed Democratic clubs 
to come to Edgefield forthwith. 

Mark you, this is the testimony of the 
Democratic chairman himself. For 
what purpose the Edgefield Rifles were 
ordered to their armory by the Demo- 
cratic chairman and armed themselves 
in plain view of the polls ? For what 
purpose did the Democratic chairman 
send messengers to other points in the 
county requesting the immediate pres- 
ence of armed Democratic rifle-clubs ? 
For what reason did Dr. G. W. Wise, 
the commander of the Democratic club 
of Trenton, leave his own polling place 
with all his command that had not al- 
ready gone to Johnston's and reported 
at Edgefield with the armed company ? 

Is not this the same Democratic party 
which protested against bayonets being 
exposed at the polls ? Is not this the 
same Democratic party which, at the 
extra session of Congress over three 
years ago, attempted time after time to 
vote riders on appropriation bills to pre- 
vent even one United States unarmed 
officer from standing by and witnessing 
an election? Why were these armed 
men ordered there ? Had a single col- 
ored man assaulted a white Democrat ? 
Were not these 2,000 colored men, al- 
though assembled for a lawful purpose, 
and although prevented from exercis- 
ing their right of franchise, were they 
not peaceable, and orderly and quiet; 



and when kept from .approaching the 
polls did they create any disturbance ? 
The answer as to the presence of this 
Edgefield rifle company and of this 
armed Democratic club from Trenton 
is given by one R. T. Anderson; a Dem- 
ocrat, and a witness for the contested 
in this case, who states as follows : 

As to the explanation by some of these parties 
that were in the hall (the Edgefield Rifles) they 
knew full well the Republicans could not stand 
the sight of fire-arms. 

This Democratic witness knew full 
well that the colored Republicans, re- 
membering Hamburg and remember- 
ing Ellenton — remembering the massa- 
cres of 1876 — could not stand the sight 
of fire-arms. He reasoned well, for^ 
notwithstanding that :t was the home 
of a United States Senator, of all those 
2,000 voters that assembled at Edgefield 
on the morning of November 2, 1880, to 
vote, but 15 ballots were cast by them 
that day and but 11 counted. To call 
such a farce an election is a travesty on 
American institutions. To permit any 
man to hold a seat in this House by such. 
a fraud, by such intimidation, by such 
violence, would be a reflection on the 
House and every member in it. 

Red-Shirt Bourbons, Armed with Guns, 
Swords, and Clubs, at other polls in 
Edg-eheld County, perpetrate every 
at of Brutal Violence — They made the 
republicans .."Smell Hell Before 
Xight"— IT. S. Supervisors Beat Over 
the Head with Clubs, their Commiss- 
ions Wrested From Them, and forced 
to Leave the Polls under Threats of 
Death— Republicans Forced to Tote 
Democratic Tickets with Pistols at 
their Heads and under Threats to 
Blow Out their Brains — Colored Vot- 
ers Shot and Killed — Intimidation, 
Violence, and Fraud. 

Witnesses tell us that at the Mount 
Willing precinct similar scenes of vio- 
lence were enacted, that from 180 to 190 
colored voters were kept away frorn the 
poll. 

The red- shirters were standing around 
with clubs and pistols keeping the col- 
ored Republicans back and admitting 
the Democrats. About two o'clock a 
crowd of red-shirte^s came up and be- 
gan beating the colored Republicans 
with clubs and sticks; one pistol was 
fired, and after that a great deal of fir- 
ing took place. 

At the Meeting-House precinct the 
supervisor, who was a Republican, was 
not allowed to act in his office, struck 
three times over his head, one of the 
Democratic leaders at the same time 
saying to him that he would "smell hell 
before night." 



■o6 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



At Chatham's Store precinct a colored 
Hepublican voter was seized by an 
armed Democrat who beat him, pre- 
sented a pistol, and threatened to blow 
his brains out if he did not vote the 
Democratic ticket. To save his life he 
•complied with this brutal demand. 

At Talbot's Store the entrance to the 
room where the votes were received 
was crowded by Democrats in such a 
manner as to prevent Republicans from 
entering, and the supervisor states that 
twenty-five colored men only voted, one 
hundred and fifty being deterred by 
threats from making the- attempt. At 
Red Hill the Republican supervisor had 
his commission forced from him, and he 
was told to leave or a hole would be put 
through liim. We learn from the testi- 
mony of the supervisor that at Lan- 
druni's Store seventy-six more ballots 
were found in the box than there were 
names on the poll-list, and to prevent 
an investigation the supervisor's poll- 
list was forcibly taken from him. At 
Johnston's the Republican supervisor 
remained till nearly three o'clock, when 
he was seized by a red-shirter, who, 
with profane and threatening language, 
compelled him to leave the precinct. It 
was at this poll that Democrats were 
riding up and down during the day, 
waving clubs and swords and discharg- 
ing pistols and guns. One colored man 
was shot in the head and killed, and out 
of the seven or eight hundred colored 
men who came to this precinct to vote 
not over thirty of them were permitted 
to cast their ballots. 

Hampton County — Corrected Vote of 
County. 

The committee made the following 
corrections in the vote of Hampton 
County as counted by the State board : 

The vote of Tillman as counted. 

by State board 2,590 

Deduct Brunson 336 

Deduct Early Branch 316 

Deduct Beach Brauch 120 

Deduct Lawtonville 340 

Deduct Barnesville 459 

1,571 

1,019 

The vote of contestant as counted 

by State board 1,575 

Deduct Brunson 19 

Deduct Early Branch 87 

Deduct Beach Branch 

Deduct Lawtonville 174 

Deduct Barnesville 129 

409 

1,166 

Smalls' majority 147 

The committee, after careful consider- 
ation of this county, recommended that 
i he precincts of Brunson, Early Branch, 
Beach Branch, Lawtonville, and Barnes- 
ville be rejected on account of the in- 
timidation and violence practiced in 
these several precincts. 



Ballot-box Stuffing at Brunson, Hamp- 
ton County— Raid on Night prior to 
Election of Red-shirt Bourbon Ruf- 
fians into Brunson, cursing, yelling-, 
Hurrahing for Hancock, and Damn- 
ing- Garfield— Firing pistols, and Ex- 
ploding Powder under an Anvil, 
which Sounded lihe the Report of a 
Cannon — Intimidation the Bourbon 
Rol<e— U. S. Supervisors advised to Ske- 
daddle. 

At Brunson precinct, Hampton Coun- 
ty, where only 19 Republican votes were 
returned by the Democratic managers, 
588 ballots were put in the box against 
350 names on the poll-list, and contes- 
tee's witnesses admit that 238 more bal- 
lots were found in the box than there 
were voters. U. S. Supervsior E. A. 
Brabham thus testifies : 

Q. Was the election quiet and orderly t 
A. It was not. On the evening previous to 
the day of election several crowds of mounted 
red-shirt ers rode into the town of Brunson. Di- 
rectly after dark they gathered around the de- 
pot of the Port Eoyal and Augusta Railway. 
They whooped and yelled, hurrahed for Han- 
cock, and curi d Garfield. They fired off guns, 
and exploded powder under an anvil, which ex- 
plosion sounded like a cannon, and was heard 
many miles from here. They kept up this shoot- 
ing all night, and until near sunrise the next 
morning. I went to the poll at about daylight, 
and found a great many Democrats there, many 
of whom seemed to he under the influence of 
whisky, and seeming to have taken charge of 
the poll. It seemed to he the purpose of the 
Democrats to make as much show of vio- 
lence and force as possible, but not to hurt 
any oue; but when they got their men drunk 
for the purpose, they could not control them. 
They knew that the Republicans, having been 
run over with horses, beaten with sticks, and 
shot with pistols at this poll on election day in 
1878, would be afraid to come to this poll if there 
was aay disturbance about it. They kept threat- 
ening to come to my house, which is about one 
hundred and fifty or two hundred yards from 
the depot, " and break in on me." 

A prominent Democrat sent a colored man to 
my house with a message to me, saying that I 
had better go away from home ; that those men 
at the depot had just agreed to come to my 
house after me, and that if they found me there 
they would injure or kill me. Two other Dem- 
ocrats came to my house, a few minutes after, 
and advised me to leave. I told them that I 
would go, but my family was here. I had no 
where to take them and would stay witn them 
if I got killed. Shortly after this a crowd came ; 
called to my gate, and said they wanted to see 
me. I refused to go out, and they left. A few 
minutes later another crowd came. They came 
in my yard, and knocked at my bedroom win- 
dow, insisting that I should get up ; that they 
wanted to see me. I refused to get up They 
talked to each other awhile, and left. I heard 
one say " Let's go in ; " another said " No." Af- 
ter the poll opened the Democrats whom I 
found there early in the morning kept up a 
good deal of noise, appearing to be drunk, and 
behaved very disorderly. 

Violence at Beach Branch Polls — No 
Republicans allowed to Vote— Repub- 
lican Ticltets Suppressed by Red" 
shirt Ruffians — " Halt, you Sons of 
Bitches, and Oive us those Ticltets, or 
we will Blow your Brains Out." 

At Beach Branch not a single Republi- 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



57 



cau was permitted to vote ; the Kepub- 
lican tickets were taken away from a 
party of Republicans by armed Demo- 
crats clothed in red shirts, by methods 
that would constitute highway robbery 
in any civilized community. One of the 
victims tells his story, and in this he is 
fully corroborated by his associates : 

Wilson McTeer, being duly sworn, 
deposes and says : 

Q. What did you do when you got to the poll 1 

A. We waited till about seven o'clock, and 
when we found there were no Republican tick- 
e*s there, Frank Saxson, the president of our 
club, directed me to take three other men with 
me and go to Brunson in a hurry, and tell Mr. 
Brabham, the Republican county chairman, to 
send him some tickets. I took Govan Brooks, 
Toney Moss, and Edmund Riley, and we went to 
Brunson and got a package of about 1,200 tick- 
ets from Mr. Brabham, and started back to 
Beach Branch. We rode very fast. When we 
had got about three miles from Brunson, and at 
what is known as the Hammock Place, John 
Glover, a Democrat, overtook us, and ran liis 
horse by us, and turned the horse across the 
road ahead of us, and said, "close up." Then 
eight other Democrats rode up to us with sticks 
and pistols in their hands, and "aid: '■ Halt, you 
sons of bitches, and give us those tickets. If 
you don't give them up we will b' )W your d— d 
brains out." 

Q. Did you give the tickets up ? 

A. I did not have the tickets myself; but they 
, seized hold on me, and was searching my pock- 
ets for the tickets. While they were searching 
me for the tickets, one of them said : " There is 
the son of a bitch that has them." Then they 
went to Govan Brooks. One of them held a 
pistol to his breast, and one held a club over his 
head, while othe s put their hands into his 
pockets and took the tickets out. 

Q. How were those Democrats dressed ? 

A. They were all dressed in red shirts, except 
one who wore a red bow. 

Q. What did they say after they had taken 
the tickets? 

A. They told us t« go and not let them catch 
us back that way again or they would kill us. 

Drunken Violence of Red-shirt Bour- 
bon Ruffians, armed and mounted, at 
Lawtonville polls — Blaspheming re- 
bukes of Republicans by the Red-shirt 
Ruffians— They ride among- Republi- 
cans with swords, clubs, and pistols- 
Republicans shot and cut— Ben Shep- 
pard, an old man of Fifty Years, per- 
forated with six balls — Xo Honest Flec- 
tion. 

At Lawtonville precinct some fifty 
drunken Democrats, clothed in red 
shirts, all armed, seemed to be the rul- 
ing spirits, and they prevented an hon- 
est and a fair election. Their outra- 
geous conduct could not be better de- 
scribed than in the sworn testimony of 
their victims : 

Personally appeared before me, Ben. Shep- 
pard, who being duly sworn, deposes and says, 
to wit : 

Question. What is your name, your age, your 
occupation, and where your place of residence 1 

Answer. Ben Sheppard is my name; my a#e 
is fifty-four years ; am a farmer ; and I live at 
Dr. Ramsey's place, Lawtonville Township, in 
Hampton County. 

Q. How long have you lived there 1 

A. Was born and raised there. 



Q. Where were you at the last eleetion % 
A. Was at the Lawtonville precinct. 
Q. Was it a quiet election that day 1 
A. No, sir; they commenced a row there I 
suppose, as near as I can come at it, about 
eight o'clock a. in.; they kept quiet down for 
awhile, for about one and one-half hours, then 
started row again ; then things went on until 
about four o'clock p. in., when they started it 
again. They threatened to fight the Republican 
party for voting; they rebuked us by every 
blasphemy they could think of; they were 
armed, every Democrat ; most that I seen had 
from one to two pistols ; then in the evening, at 
four o'clock, they i id off a piece and came back 
and rid right in among the Republican party 
with swords and clubs ; then we tried to get out 
of the way, and in trying to get out of the way 
shot among us; I myself got six balls in me at 
that time, and another man, named Adam Pat- 
terson got shot. He and I were carried home in 
a wagon together. 

Smalls' majority 1,486— The vote of the 
District purged of fraud, as ascer- 
tained by the House Committee on 
Elections. 



Aiken — 
Hampton 
Barnwell. 
Colleton . 
Beaufort. 



3 


no 


s 


33 


cs 


a 


H 


OQ 


3,409 


1,058 


1,019 


1,166 


4,700 


2,431 


3,388 


3,760 


391 


5,978 


12,907 


14,393 



Smalls' majority, 1,486. 

The Record in the Case the unaided 
work of the citizens of the District — 
Evidence remarkable from a District 
the Scene in 1876 of the Hamburg 
and Ellen ton Massacres— Armed Mi- 
litia at the Home of U. S. Senator 
Butler violently disfranchise 2,000 
Legal voters amid every form of out- 
rage—Republicans assaulted, shot, 
wounded, and Killed— The body of a 
Murdered Republican left near the 
Polls as a 'warning to others — Sixteen 
U. S. Supervisors assaulted, beaten, 
obstructed in their Duties, or driven 
from the Polls — Intimidation General 
through the violence of Armed and 
Mounted Red-Shirt Bourbon Ruf- 
fians. 

Such is a brief review of the evidence 
in this case which decided the House in 
seating Mr. Smalls. The record which 
governed the House in this decision was 
made by the citizens of the fifth Con- 
gressional district of South Carolina 
themselves, unaided by any committee 
of either branch of Congress, and with- 
out assistance of any United States offi- 
cer. The witnesses appeared before 
resident officials and were examined and 
cross-examined by counsel employed 
by the contestant and contestee, living 
in the immediate vicinity. 



58 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



Although the evidence on the part of the 
contestant is not as full as it might have 
been, yet it is remarkable that, in a dis- 
trict which was the scene of the Ham- 
burg massacre and the Ellenton riots 
of 1876, and whicli was subjected to 
the violence and intimidation which 
marked the elaction of 1880 that testi- 
mony disclosing so much glaring fraud 
could have been takeu at all. 

At one poll, and that the home of a 
Senator who now sits in the United 
States Senate, more than 2,000 persons 
were prevented from voting. Armed 
militia drawn up near by command- 
ed the ballot-box. At another pre- 
cinct the messengers sent for the tickets 
were basely assaulted and the Republi- 
can tickets taken forcibly from them, 
the men who did it recognized, and no 
one of them called to explain away their 
action or their conduct. At another a 
colored Republican was killed near the 
polls, and his lifeless body left lying 
there as a warning to all others that 
such would be their fate if they at- 
tempted to vote the Republican ticket. 
At another five men were wounded with 
fire-arms, one of them carrying in his 
body at the time of taking the testi- 
mony in the case the marks of five 
wounds, which were exposed to the of- 
ficer so taking the testimony. At many 
others, bodies of armed men were at the 
polls for the express purpose of intimi- 
dating persons from voting, while at 
some polling places mounted armed 
men rode through the crowds at the 
polls cutting them with sabres and 
driving them away. 

At sixteen of the precincts in the dis- 
trict the United States Republican su- 
pervisors, who were appointed by a law 
passed by the Congress of the United 
States for the express purpose of wit- 
nessing the election and making a re- 
turn as to Congress, were assaulted, 
beaten, obstructed, and driven from the 
polls; one of whom was followed into 
the swamps and has never since been 
heard of. 



Predetermined and well matured Plan 
toy the Bourtoon Democracy to cap- 
ture the District— Xational and State 
Laws Defied— Public officials violate 
their sworn duties— Citizens disfran- 
chised by Intimidation— Ballot-boxes 
stuffed and vote fraudulently counted 
— Success of our Free Institutions de- 
pends upon tne purity of the Ballot- 
Box— A Man or a Party who would 
obtain public position by such agen- 
cies should be branded as an Enemy 
to the Republic 

All the facts and circumstances at- 
tending this election disclose a prede- 



termined and well-matured plan by the 
Democracy to capture this Republican 
district. To attain that end, State and 
national laws were defied; public offi- 
cers failed to perform their sworn 
duties; the right of American citizens 
to freely cast their votes and have them 
honestly counted were denied, and the 
exercise of that unquestioned right pre- 
vented by armed Democratic desper- 
adoes. At a time and upon an occasion 
when peace, law, and order should pre- 
vail, outrages, anarchy, and disorder 
ruled supreme. Errors may sometimes 
occur in the administration of our elec- 
tion laws through the carelessness or 
ignorance of election officers; indis- 
cretions may be committed in times of 
great excitement when intense party 
feelings are aroused, but these may be 
attributed to the imperfections and 
weakness of our nature. It is a source 
of profound regret that this charitable 
view cannot be taken of the striking 
revelations in this case. 

The right of an American citizen to 
the elective franchise is too sacred to 
be denied. The purity of our elections 
is of vital consequence, and the success 
of our free institutions depends upon 
its preservation. The man who would 
obtain official position or the party that 
would achieve success by its violation 
should be branded as an enemy of the 
Republic. 



PART VII. 

Gerrymandering Extraor- 
dinary Illustrated by tne 
Bourbon ^Democracy. 

Villainous Gerrymandering in South 
Carolina— Gerrymandered Map of the 
the State— Maps of Districts Xos. 1 and 
7— Their formation — Enormous size 
and Population of District Mo. 7. 

Mr. Horr, of Michigan, in the House, 
July 19, 1882, in reviewing the case of 
Smalls vs. Tillman, said : 

I have here a map of South Carolina, 
showing the Congressional districts as 
they have just been arranged by the Leg- 
islature of that State. I will ask the 
Clerk to hold it up, so the members may 
all see the beauties of this scheme. 
[Here Mr. Horr exhibited a map of South 
Carolina, showing the outlines or forma- 
tion of the respective Congressional 
districts of the State.] 

Now, I claim, Mr. Speaker, that that 
map is a stump speech of itself, and an el- 
egant one, too. Please follow me while I 



CONTESTED ELECTION" CASES. 



59 



point out some of its wonders. First, let 
me call your attention to the first district. 
It seemed for some reason that they de- 
sired to take into that district the city of 
Charleston, so they run down this nar- 
row neck [indicating] and take in that 
city; and then with a still narrower 
strip they run up along the coast of the ' 
ocean forty or fifty miles hereto McClel- ' 
lanville, and take in some two hundred ; 
Democrats in that village. 

Let us next examine this seventh dis- 
trict. The district commences here at j 
the southern border of the State, and in- 
cludes all this large territory running: up 
here to Charleston harbor, including 
these islands; and then crossing the liar- j 
bor it runs along this strip between high [ 
and low water mark up to McClellan- ' 
ville, and then off into this queer shaped 
country. I have the bill here in my j 
hand, and it makes the boundary line : 
the high-water mark of this coast, so at 
high tide the connecting link is under 
water entirely. [Laughter.] Then take j 
a look at the general outline of this dis- 
trict. See the inden ture here ; the zigzag 
there ; the broad expanse here; the nar- ! 
row strip there. 

But you cannot understand these dis- 
tricts properly unless you see them ; 
standing out alone, each one by itself. I 
have here a diagram representing them 
to a dot. Here is District No. 7, in all its 
proportions. [Exhibiting a diagram by 
which the outline or formation of the ' 
district was shown.] 

Now, you would not think that district i 
possible unless you could see its mate, : 
District No. 1. 'Here it is. [Exhibiting 
a diagram showing the formation of the 
district.] 

They are not twins ; but they do match 
each other beautifully. [Laughter.] You 
would have no. use for this leg and foot 
on No. 1 if you did not have this boot in 
No. 7 for it to slip into. [Laughter.] 
Now, look at the enormous size of this 
District No. 7. It must include quite | 
one-fifth of the State. I find upon ex- 
amination that it contains over 187,000 
people, being 69,000 more inhabitants I 
than are in the smaller districts. 



District. 


> 


s 




_ >> 

© 


First 


12,445 
11,446 
13,359 
17,670 
11,805 
] 2,480 
7,695 


13,884 
16,283 
12,707 ■ 
16,985 
12.669 
13,468 
32,893 


*652 
683 


1,439 
4,837 


Second 


Third 


Fourth 




Fifth 


864 
988 


Sixth 




25,19S 




Total 


86,900 


118,889 


1,307 


33,326 



Object of tliis) Villainous Gerrymander- 
ing— Population of the respective Con- 
gressional Districts of South Caroli- 
na—Heavy Colored Majorities in all 
but Two— Formation of Districts Xos. 
3 and 4— A Mathematical Point the Con- 
necting liink where their Corners 
touch. 

What object could there be in mak- 
ing such an enormous district as that in 
territory and population ? A short ex- 
amination of the census tables will show. 
I will insert here a table showing the 
white and colored voters of each dis- 
trict : 



You see by that table there are 25,198 
more colored voters in that seventh dis- 
trict than there are white voters. In 
that first district there are only 26,329= 
voters ; in the fifth district only 24,474 r 
while in this marvelously shaped sev- 
enth there are 40,588 voters ! Thus, vou 
see, this game becomes apparent. They 
started out with this seventh district 
and run it in all directions, without re- 
gard to county lines, or town lines, or 
voting precincts, simply with one pur- 

Sose in view — that of collecting into one 
istrict all the colored voters possible, 
and thereby preventing their votes from 
being felt in the other districts. And 
such work as that is called redistricting 
a State according to law ! 

Mr. DUNN. Is that evidence in this 
case J ? 

Mr. HORR. It is a part of the evidence, 
and before I get through I will show you 
a much stronger link between this proof 
and the case we are now trying than 
there is between the different portions 
of some of these districts. [Laughter.] 
If you do not believe it look at these di- 
agrams of districts No. 3 and 4. [Exhib- 
iting diagrams showing the formations 
of districts Nos. 3 and 4.] 

You will notice that the only connect- 
ing link between the two portions of this 
third district there is a mathematical 
point where their corners touch. 

Extract from the Gerrymandering Act 
of South Carolina. 

For the edification of the House let 
me read from the bill, a certified copy 
of which I hold here in my hand, the 
j description of this remarkable first dis- 



trict : 



The first Congressional district to be com- 
I posed of the county of Charleston, except 
James Island, Folly island, Morris Island, and 
the islands lying between them ; the lower 
harbor of Charleston Harbor and the ocean 
coast line from and below high-water mark ; 
the towns of Mount Pleasant and Sunimerville, 
and so much of the parish of Saint James, 
Goose Creek, as lies between western track of 
the South Carolina Railway and the Ashley 
River in the county of Berkley, and below the 
county of Colleton; the townsbips of Bells, 
Burns, Cenn, Dorchester, George, Graham, 
Heyward. Roger, Sheridan, and Verdier in the 



60 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASE8. 



county of Colleton ; the townships of Branch- 
ville, Caw Caw, Caw Castle, Eclisto, Elizaheth, 
Gooclland, Hebron, Liberty, Middle, New Hope, 
Orange, Union, Willow, Rocky Grove, Zion, in 
the county of Orangeburgh , and the county of 
-Lexington. 

How does that sound for the one Con- 
gressional district 1 ? And the descrip- 
tion of the seventh district is like unto 
this — only more so, Why, sir, this bill 
not only divides counties, but it splits 
up townships and even sunders voting 
precincts, so that the people of one poll- 
ing place will be compelled to vote for 
Congressmen in different districts. 
What is all this for 1 Do they seek to 
have two or three ballot-boxes at each 
place so that they can more readily use 
a double set of these tissue ballots ? Is 
that it ? Or is it simply an attempt to 
disfranchise a large number of the col- 
ored voters ? 

Gerrymandering in Ohio under the 
Democracy-Bad as it was it was Ger- 
rymandering simple and pure— The 
South Carolina Job pure and simple 
villainy — Forced to Tunnel under 
Charleston Harbor to connect its 
parts— Will South Carolina blush at 
such villainy ? 

Mr. ATHERTON. I wish to ask the 
question whether it is any more unfair 
in South Carolina to make districts of 
that kind than in the case of the seven- 
teenth district of Ohio ? I believe it is 
the seventeenth district. 

Mr. HORK. Do you mean the one my 
brother is about to be elected from''? 
That is the fourteenth. [Laughter.] 

I have not the maps of the various ap- 
portiontments heretofore made in Ohio 
before me, but I will guarantee that if 
you will look them up you will find that 
the worst job of that kind ever done in 
that State was done by the Democrats 
in the last decade; by far the worst 
looking map of that kind ever made in 
that State was made at that time by you 
Democrats. [Laughter.] You know 
that, Judge. 

Mr. ATHERTON. Not as bad as this 
one I have mentioned. 

Mr. HORR. Oh, yes, indeed ! It was 
a great deal worse. But you may 
take that map, as bad as it was, and 
place it by the side of this one of 
South Carolina, and while the Ohio map 
was the worst the Democrats of that 
State could do, you will find they con- 
fined themselves to gerrymandering 
simple and pure, while this South Caro- 
lina business is pure and simple vil- 
lainy. [Applause on Republican side.] 

The men who would prepare such a 
map as that, who would divide town- 
ships, split in two precincts— worse than 
that; here in this seventh district, in 



Charleston Harbor, in order to make a 
land connection you are compelled to 
tunnel under that harbor. [Great laugh- 
ter and applause.] 

Mr. ATHERTON. Is it any worse to 
disfranchise 50,000 people in South Caro- 
lina than 50,000 Democrats in Ohio ? 

Mr. "HORR. Let me assure my friend 
from Ohio that no such outrage as this 
has ever been perpetrated in his State. 
You cannot find on the face of these 
entire United States another such at- 
tempt to disfranchise an entire race of 
people as is shown by this recent divis- 
ion of the State of South Carolina. The 
gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. 
Evins] the other day said to me that 
South Carolina had never yet done any- 
thing of which she was ashamed. This 
map was not at that time made. Can 
the gentleman repeat that remark now ? 
[Applause on the Republican side.] 

Mr. UPDEGRAFF. There is in Ohio 
no Congressional district which bears 
any resemblance to that South Carolina 
district, and no one not composed of 
contiguous counties without any divis- 
ion of counties, townships, or pre- 
cincts. 

Mr. Horr subsequently said : 

I want only a moment simply to show 
the gentleman from Ohio, [Mr. Ather- 
ton,] who took me unawares as to the 
fourteenth district of Ohio, which my 
brother may represent in the next Con- 
gress. My friend Dawes from that 
State has furnished me a diagram here 
showing the exact shape of the district 
as it now is. Just look at it. Simply 
four entire counties in one square, solid 
chunk. There. [Exhibiting the dia- 
gram.] 

Now, to put on the county of Holmes, 
which my friend Atherton claims natu- 
rally belongs there, would make the 
picture like that. [Exhibiting a dia- 
gram.] 

He must have become so familiar with 
Democratic districting that a district 
does not look natural to him unless it 
has one of those prongs on it. [Laugh- 
ter] As it now is it is a square, shapely 
district. 

Even Precincts, and Townships divided 
in this extraordinary Gerrymander- 
ing Villainy — Extract from South 
Carolina law providing for their di" 
vision — »istrict No. 7 formed to em- 
brace most of the Colored Voters in 
Eastern part of State— Its crooked 
length runs 250 miles up and down 
the coast, 

Mr. EYINS. He [Mr. Horr] stated 
awhile ago that in South Carolina we 
have divided precincts and townships. 
Now the gentleman is mistaken. No 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES, 



61 



precincts are divided. In South Caro- 
lina the counties are usually double or 
triple the size of counties in other 
States and a number of townships have 
been cut off. ***** 

Mr. MACKEY. My colleague say» 
that no precincts are divided. Mount 
Pleasant precinct, in Berkeley County 
was divided. 

Mr. EVINS. I have no knowledge of 
such a thing; and of course, while I 
may be mistaken, I do not believe that 
it is done. 

Mr. MACKEY. I could name a dozen 
which have been divided. 

Mr. HORR. If you have not divided 
precincts and townships, pray what did 
your Legislature mean by their bill? 
Let me read the exact provision of the 
law framed by your Democratic Legis- 
lature. Listen to sections 2 and 3 of this 
very bill which divided up the State 
into these districts and made these dia- 
grams possible : 



Sec. 2. In every case in which under the pro- 
visions of this act the townships or parts of 
townships of any county may not all he in the 
same Congressional district, it shall be the duty 
of the proper hoard of county canvassers of 
such county in canvassing the votes of said 
county to report separately the results of the 
vote of such townships or part of townships for 
the Congressional district to which they may 
respectively belong. 

Sec. 3. In anj - case in which a voting precinct 
may form part of more than one ConsTressional 
district, if no other provision be made by law 
the commissioner of election for the county in 
which such precinct is situated shall provide 
for such precinct separate boxes for every Con- 
gressional district within which the said pre- 
cinct may be, and each voter at such precinct 
shall deposit his ballot for member of Congress 
in the box provided for the Congressional dis- 
trict within the limits of which said voter may 
reside. 



Mr. EVINS. I presume that has ref- 
erence exclusively to county officers. 

Mr. HORR. I beg the gentleman's 
pardon, that is not what it says. It ex- 
pressly states Congressional districts; 
and these separate boxes have nothing 
to do with county matters, nor is it 
possible for the law to apply to anything 
except elections of Congressmen. It 
seems beyond dispute that the makers 
of this law at least feared they had di- 
vided towns and voting precincts, else 
no such provisions would have appeared 
in their bill. Why, look again for a 
moment at the diagrams of districts No. 
1 and No. 7 ! 

For some reason they desired to take 
in Charleston in one end of No. 1. That 
split the territory of No. 7 plumb in two. 
It would seem that it had already been 
determined that No. 7 should include 
most of the negro votes in the east half 
of the State. To do that they must run 
the district two hundred and fifty miles 
up and down the coast and jump the 



Charleston and McClellanville strip of 
No. 1, which runs its crooked length en- 
tirely through the seventh district. 
These men do not stop at trifles. The 
strip of territory and the constitutional 
barrier are both passed at a single bound, 
and No. 7 is formed, taking in a major- 
ity of over 25,000 negro voters arid a 
population of 187,600 souls. 

District \o. 7 embraces 40,000 more 
People than the ratio of the State, and 
69.000 more than the adjoining- dis- 
trict — Formed to gather within its 
crooked and indented Borders as 
many as possible of the colored voters* 

Mr. HORR. My friend from Ohio- 
claimed that his district includes a sur- 
plus of 5,000; but here we have a dis- 
trict with nearly 40,000 people in excess 
of the regular ratio of the State and 69,- 
000 more than the adjoining district, 
and built in that way simply to gather 
within its crooked and indented borders 
as many of the colored voters as pos- 
sible. 

Such villainous Gerrymandering im- 
possible under an honest execution 
of Apportionment Act of last Con- 
gress. 

Mr. HORR. The apportionment bill 
which passed the House at this session 
requires districts to be made from con- 
tiguous territory and as nearly as prac* 
ticable equal in population. And let 
me say that any set of men who would 
try to faithfully and honestly execute 
that law as passed could never make 
such districts as those we are now con- 
sidering. 

This villainous Gerrymandering part 
of an infamous Bourbon plan adopted 
immediately after the passage of the 
Reconstruction Acts for the purpose 
of creating a Solid South— Part of a 
plan, the principal Agents of which 
were the Ku-Klux, Tissue ballots, In- 
timidation, Red-shirt brigades, and 
Shot-gun companies — So long as the 
South practices such tricks and en- 
courage such agents, so long will 
there be a Solid Xorth against it. 

Let me repeat to you gentlemen that 
the North will be kept solid just so 
long as you insist upon these methods 
of destroying the votes of the loyal 
people of the South, just so long as you 
continue to practice that kind of trick- 
ery. But you ask what has all this to 
do with the case before the House ? 
Let me tell you. These cases show that 
you men of the South are simply car- 
rying out a plan which you inaugurated 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



among yourselves immediately after 
the reconstruction acts were passed. 
The moment we had forgiven you for the 
part you took in the rebellion and had 
given you even the right to set here as 
law-makers of the land, you com- 
menced at once — and South Carolina was 
conspicuous among those who started 
this plan— I say you commenced by every 
conceivable means, by kukluxism, tissue 
ballots, intimidation, red-shirt brigades, 
and shot-gun companies, to prevent the 
voice of her loyal people from being 
heard, and to prevent the colored men 
in your States from having any voice in 
choosing their rulers. 



PART VIII, 

'Qraiid Questions for the So- 
lution of the Nation — 
Shall the majority rale? 
— Shall the Constitution 
and the Laws he enforced, 
or the Bourbon Minority 
be allowed to rule through 
Lawlessness and Fraud ? 

The Questions of To-day— How to se- 
cure and record a Free Ballot and a 
Fair Count— The attitude of the De- 
mocracy — It has sustained these 
Frauds at the South— It defended 
Chalmers in Mississippi, Wheeler in 
Alabama, Finley in Florida, and 
Dibble and Tillman in South Caro- 
lina—Has it ever denounced or con- 
demned the Hamburg Massacre or 
the Ellen ton Riots of 1876 ?— those Ter- 
rible Agencies of a "Solid South?" 
— Shall this Reign of Perjury, and 
Fraud, and Tissue Ballots, and Vio- 
lence, and Bloodshed usher in the 
Long Expected Bemocratic Era?— The 
duty of all who love their Country is 
to unite in guarding the Purity and 
Sanctity of the Ballot-box. 

Hon. Samuel H, Miller, of Pennsyl- 
vania, in the House of Kepresentatives, 
July 19, 1882, said : 

"To-day it is a question how to secure 
and record a free vote and a fair count 
from nearly twelve million voters. No 
difference of opinion should exist among 
honest men as to the propriety, nay, the 
necessity, of accomplishing this. How,* 
then, shall we explain, the attitude of 
the Democratic party on this question ? 
When has it raised its voice against 
these frauds at the South ? What Dem- 



ocrat has denounced them? What 
Democrat in this House has raised his 
voice against them ? If there is one let 
him stand up ! 

"Has not that party defended Chal- 
mers in Mississippi, Wheeler in Alabama, 
Finley in Florida, and Dibble in South 
Carolina? Who of them has condemned 
the admitted illegal stuffing of the bal- 
lot-boxes of the South? Who of them 
has condemned the fraud and violence 
and outrages in the fifth Congressional 
district ? Who of them denounced the 
Hamburg massacre of July, 1876, or the 
Ellenton riots of September, 1876? 
Who of them will rise in his seat and 
utter but a single word of condemnation 
for this carnival of fraud and outrage 
and wrong and violence ? 1 pause for a 
reply. Is it possible that the once Droud 
and powerful Democratic party is willing 
to accept power at any price of national 
honor and at any sacrifice of personal 
rights! Has it come to this, that the 
great Democratic party; admits that a 
solid South is a prerequisite to Democrat- 
ic success and that their Southern allies 
may choose their own means to make it 
solid? 

"Shall this reign of perjury and fraud 
and tissue-ballots and violence and 
bloodshed on Southern soil usher in 
the long-expected Democratic era? 
God forbid! Let every man North, 
South, East, and West who loves his 
country, who cherishes her institutions, 
who believes that the ballot is our 
great Magna Charta, who is determined 
to transmit this Government of, for, 
and by the people in all its strength 
and purity to future generations, let 
all such unite in one common cause to 
protect the purity and sanctity of the 
ballot and guard it by the wisest and 
best legislation that statesmanship can 
devise. Then, and not till then, will 
the permanency of Eepublican institu- 
tions be assured. 'Then those who 
died on the hundred battle-fields of the 
rebellion shall not have died in vain ; 
then this nation, under God, shall have 
a new birth of freedom ; and govern- 
ment of the people, by the people, and 
for the people shall not perish from the 
earth.'" 

Wealth and Intelligence should not be 
governed by Ignorance and Poverty— 
The claim that Bourbonism embraces 
all the Wealth and Intelligence of the 
South an Unfounded Fraud— The Op- 
position to Bourbonism embraces a 
Earge Percentage of the Wealth, In- 
telligence, and Moral Worth of the 
South — Equally true is it that the 
Bourbon Democracy embraces within 
its Banks some of the most Ignorant 
and Depraved - Bourbons therefore 
dare not make Education or Intelli- 
gence a qualification of the voter. 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES 



Hon. John Lynch, of Mississippi, in 
the House of Representatives, April 27, 
1882, said : 

"That the South is solidly Democratic 
at the expense of the purity of elections 
is no longer a disputed question. Every 
intelligent man knows it, and every 
candid man admits it. Many of those 
who defend the methods of Southern 
Bourbons do so upon the plea that wealth 
and intelligence ought not to be gov- 
erned by poverty and ignorance, and as 
the wealth and the intelligence of the 
South are identified with the Demo- 
cratic party, and the poverty and ig- 
norance with the Republican party, it 
necessarily follows that Democratic 
success is essential to the ascendancy of 
the intelligent and property-owning 
classes. According to their reasoning, 
therefore, the country ought to coun- 
tenance and justify fraud and violence 
on their part. Let us inquire into this 
a little. The claim that the Democratic 
party at the South embraces within its 
membership all of the wealth and the 
intelligence of that section has not the 
slightest foundation in fact. I know 
whereof I speak when I assert that the 
opposition to the Democratic organ- 
ization, in the State of Mississippi, for 
instance, embraces within its member- 
ship a large per cent, of the wealth, the 
intelligence, and the moral worth of 
that Commonwealth. It is equally true 
that the Democratic party embraces 
within its membership some of the most 
ignorant and depraved of our popula- 
tion. 

"True, the Republican party at the 
South has a larger percentage of the il- 
literate voters than has the Democratic 
party, but it is also true that both par- 
ties contain a sufficient number of each 
of these classes to prevent either from 
being accepted as the exclusive repre- 
sentative of either class. Under the 
existing order of things it is impossible 
to make wealth and intelligence the ba- 
sis of party organization in any one of 
the Southern States. If it be true that 
the Democratic organizational the South 
is the exclusive representative of the 
wealth and the intelligence of that sec- 
tion, why is it they do not establish by 
law an educational or a property quali- 
fication for electors? I think I can in- 
form the country why it is they have 
attempted nothing of the kind. It is 
because they know they cannot disfran- 
chise the illiterate Republican voter 
without disfranchising at the same time 
and in the same way the illiterate Dem- 
ocratic voter. It is because they know 
they cannot disfranchise the poverty- 
stricken Republican voter without dis- 
franchising at the same time and in the 
same way the poverty-stricken Demo- 
cratic voter. This is the ' self-preser- 
vation ' which they consider to oe the 
' first law of nature.' " 



"The Colored Troops foush t nobly ! »»— 
Bravery of the Colored Man and his 
Fidelity to Principle and Party — Al- 
though the Bondman's Yoke op- 
pressed him, yet when the Xational 
Flag- was trailing in the dust of Rebel- 
lion and Treason, he was loyal and 
True — He purchased an inheritance of 
Freedom upon the Battle-Field, and 
watered the Tree of liberty with his 
Blood— He feels that he is part and 
parcel of the Nation — You may de- 
prive him of Liberty and Life, of 
Family and Home, and the means ol 
an Education, and a Living, but can- 
not deprive him of his Manhood and 
Principles— His rapid advance in Civ- 
ilization—All he asks is, that his Bal- 
lot shall be Free and Honestly 
counted. 

Mr. Lynch also said : 

" The impartial historian will record 
the fact that the colored people of the 
South have- contended for their rights 
with a bravery and a gallantry that is 
worthy of the highest commendation. 
Being, unfortunately, in dependent cir- 
cumstances, with the preponderance of 
the wealth and intelligence against 
them in some localities, yet they have 
bravely refused to surrender their 
honest convictions, even upon the altar 
of their personal necessities. They 
have said to those upon whom they de- 
pended: You may deprive me for the 
time being of the opportunity of making 
an honest living; you may take the 
bread out of the mouths of my hungry 
and dependent family ; you may close 
the school-house door in the face of my 
children ; yea, more, you may take that 
which no man can give, my life, but my 
manhood, my principles, you cannot 
have! [Applause.] Even when the 
flag of our country was trailing in the 
dust of treason and rebellion; when 
the Constitution was ignored, and the 
lawfully chosen and legally-constitut- 
ed authorities of the government were 
disregarded and disobeyed; although 
the bondman's yoke of oppression was 
then upon their necks, yet they were 
then true and loyal to their government, 
and faithful to the flag of their country. 
[Applause.] 

" They were faithful and true to you 
then ; they are no less so to-day. And 
yet they ask no special favors as a 
class ; they ask no special protection as 
a race. They feel that they purchased 
their inheritance when upon the battle- 
fields of their country they watered the 
tree of liberty with the precious blood 
that flowed from their loyal veins. 
[Loud applause.] They ask no favors; 
they demand what they deserve and 
must have, an equal chance in the race 
of life. They feel that they are a part 
and parcel of vou, bone of your bone, 
flesh of your flesh. Your institutions 



64 



CONTESTED ELECTION CASES. 



are their institutions, and your govern- 
ment is their government. You cannot 
consent to the elimination of the col- 
ored man from the body politic, es- 
pecially through questionable and 
fraudulent methods, without consenting 
to your own downfall and to your own 
destruction. That the colored people of 
the United States have made and are 
making material progress in the acqui- 
sition of knowledge, the accumulation 
of wealth, and in the development of a 
high order of civilization are facts 
known, recognized, and admitted by all 
except those who are too blind to see 
them or too prejudiced to admit them. 
* * * * * 

"The colored man asks you in this par- 
ticular instance to give effect to his 
ballot, not for his sake alone, but for 
yours as well. He asks you to recog- 
nize the fact that he has the right to as- 
sist you in defending, protecting, andup- 
holcung our government and perpetuat- 
ing our institutions. You must, then, 
as I am sure you will, condemn the 
crimes against our institutions, against 
law, against justice, and against public 
morals that were committed in this 
case." 

Tbe Republican Party Enfranchised 
the Colored Man— It struck the shack- 
les of Slavery from his Limbs and 
made him a Freeman— It placed him 
on the Grand Plaine of Citizenship 
and Endowed him with the Powers of 
Sovereignty— The great mass of Xe- 
groes South are Republicans— Its Mis- 
sion now is to Protect them in their 
liberties by Demanding and Enforc- 
ing an Untrameled Ballot and an 
Honest Count. 

Mr, Calkins, of Indiana, in the House 
of Representatives April 29, 1882, said : 

"The Republican party demands that 
the ballots shall be counted as they are 
cast ; that when an elector casts one bal- 
lot that shall be honestly counted as it 
was cast. That is the broad platform 
on which the Republican party stands. 
And this is the point made by the gen- 
tleman from Tennessee [Mr. Moore] 
when he said that the better people of 
the South were in favor of an honest 
ballot, and counting them according to 
the law of the land. The liberties of 
the people depend upon this, for the 
love of liberty is the love of law, and 
without law there is anarchy. 

"In conclusion allow me to say, al- 
though it may not be safe to count all 
of the negroes of the South as voters of 
the Republican ticket, certainly not in 
election cases, yet, Mr. Speaker, that it 
is the universal testimony of almost 



all the men who have spoken upon this 
subject, and of those who are competent 
to speak upon it, and the facts bear out 
the assertion, that the great mass of 
the negroes of the South are Republi- 
cans. In the very nature of things they 
ought to be ; they must be at least for 
this*generation. 

" It was that party and the leaders of 
that party that gave them their free- 
dom. It was that party, and it is the 
spirit that now animates those who act 
with it, that took from their limbs the 
shackles of slavery and made them 
freemen. , It was that party that placed 
in their hands that badge of sovereignty 
that raised them from servitude to the 
grand plane of citizenship. [Applause.] 
It was that party that placed, not a 
tiara upon the head, but the ballot in 
the hands of a freeman. It was that 
party that has protected them. It is 
that party that has stood by them and 
aided them in all of their troubles. It 
is that party that will stand by them to 
the end, whatever may come, [Ap- 
plause.] Not because they are negroes, 
but because in the very necessity of 
things leading to their freedom and 
clothing them with full citizenship ; by 
the very force of circumstances and the 
protection which that party has thrown 
around them by its legislation, it has 
given pledge of its fealty to justice. 

"Having obtained from that party 
every boon that could not have been 
granted them in their helpless condition, 
they naturally look to that party still 
for guidance, and it would be cowardly 
in us to desert them. But the time is 
coming — I hope it is near at hand — when, 
not only throughout the North, but in 
every part of the land, this same senti- 
ment will be recognized as the intelli- 
gent sentiment of an enlightened nation. 

" And I do now, assure my friends, 
that any liberal men in the South that 
reach out their hands to us who are im- 
bued with this one grand sentiment will 
be heartily grasped from whencesoever 
they come. [Applause.] No matter 
what the past has been, it shall be no 
longer remembered. Give us a free vote, 
a fair count, an honest election. That 
is all we ask. If there has been bitter- 
ness between us we put it by as belong- 
ing to the past. But do not immolate 
truth and justice for party success. 
We stand for liberty and law. And I 
say to the negroes that the same spirit 
which secured them these blessings will 
educate their children, and the good 
people of all parties will stand by you 
in every forward step you take toward 
cizilization and say, God bless you.' 7 
[Great applause on the floor and in th«. 
galleries.] 



TAST USURPATIONS OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



<S5> 



CHAPTER III. 

Usurpations of the Democracy through Lawless- 
ness and Fraud. 



The right to a free ballot is the right preservative of all rights, and must and slvtl 
every part of the United States.— Declaration 5, National Democratic I'ui 



'■" uiaintaitu 

iOilli, II- 30. 



PART I. 

" Counting in " a I>eniocrat- 
ic Invention, and pecu- 
liarly a I>enioeratic Prac- 
tice — " Counting in " of 
James K. Polk as Presi- 
dent in 1844 — Of James 
Buchanan in 1857— The 
Disastrous Consequences 
to the Xation — The at- 
tempted " Counting in " 
of Samuel J. Tilden in 
1876— A Brief Review of 
the immense Democratic 
Frauds in the Campaigns 
of 1844 and 18*57 com- 
pared with those of 1876. 

In 1844, in the Presidential campaign 
of that year, James K. Polk, of Tennes- 
see, was notoriously " counted into " the 
Presidency over Henry Clay, of Ken- 
tucky, who had been elected President 
fairly by the voice of the American peo- 
ple. 

Who was Henry Clay ? Who James 
K. Polk? Who the arch conspirators 
by whom Clay was robbed of the 
Presidency — by whom the American 
people were cheated of their choice as 
Chief Magistrate ; and what the agen- 
cies or means by which a result so dis- 
astrous to the nation was accomplished ? 
What the motives or ends which in- 
fluenced the agencies for a result so la- 
mentable? 

Just now, in presence of the Demo- 
cratic design to seize the Presidency by 
Mexicanizing the Republic— by subvert- 
ing the Constitution and the laws, by 
bull -dozing, by b i Hot-box stuffing, and 
by all other possible nefarious means — 
these inquiries are pertinent and preg- 
nant ones. We will answer them as 
briefly as possible. 



The "Great Commor.p:'." iienry Clay 
who would "rather L>e rag-Ji: tlian 
President!" — His unknown I>enio- 
cratie opponent, James K. Poll*. 

For nearly half a century, in 1844, 
from 1797, when Kentucky was framing 
a new State constitution, Henry Clay 
had been active in the service of his 
country. A Senator of the United States 
in 1806, when only twenty -nine years 
old, and distinguished, even at that 
early age, for eminent ability and elo- 
quence ; unrivaled subsequently as the 
Speaker and leader of the House ; equal- 
ly brilliant in the Senate and Cabinet, 
in war as in peace, as a statesman, ora- 
tor, and diplomat ; pre-eminent for his 
chivalrous courage and lofty patriotism, 
and probably the only man of his time 
who could, without personal ridicule, 
have uttered his celebrated apothegm, 
" I would rather he right than Presi- 
dent!" 

Such was Henry Clay, "the Great 
Commoner," the Whig candidate for 
President in 1844; while his opponent, 
Polk, was so little known, his services 
to the nation of so little consequence, 
that upon his nomination by the Democ- 
racy the cry went throughout the Re- 
public, " Who is James K. Polk T" 

The vote by which Clay was rightfully 
elected and entitled to the Presi- 
dency — The villainous Democratic 
frauds by which he was " Counted 
out." 

Henry Clay was the choice of the 
American people for President, and a 
decided majority of the votes actually 
cast was thrown for him. He was cho- 
sen President by the voice of his coun- 
trymen, and under the Constitution and 
laws — by all the rules of right— was en- 
titled to the Presidency. None now 
doubt that. As a matter of history it is 
notorious. Nevertheless, in the House, 
in 1845, the electoral vote counted was : 
For Polk, 170; for Clay, 105; while 
Polk's minority on the popular vote was 
24,119. The electoral colleges counted 
for Polk included that of New York (36), 
Pennsylvania (26), Georgia (10), Louis- 
iana (6) — in all 78 votes — to all of which 
I Clay was entitled by decided popular 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



majorities in all those States. Hence, 
add those 78 votes to Clay's 105, and de- 
duct them from Polk's 170, will give 
Clay 183 votes and reduce Polk's to 92, 
making Clay's majority in the electoral 
colleges 91, the real result of the can- 
vass, but which was defeated by the de- 
liberately-planned frauds of the Democ- 
racy. Even strike from Polk's 170 New 
York's 36 votes, which State Clay con 
fessedly carried by from 5,000 to 10,000 
majority, will leave Polk but 134 elec- 
toral votes and give Clay 141, a majority 
of 7 in the colleges. 

Samuel J. Tilden's guilty complicity 
in the Democratic villainy ! 

In all these villainous frauds, Samuel 
J. Tilden, in New York, aided by the 
notorious Isaiah Eynders and his cohort 
of unprincipled ruffians, and in Louis- 
iana by the equally notorious John Sli- 
dell, a New Yorker by birth, was, as a 
leading Democrat of the Empire State, 
the headquarters of the conspiracy for 
the defeat of Clay, an active and effi- 
cient co-worker. It is not strange, 
therefore, that Tilden, who in the cam- 
paign of 1876, simply attempted, in be- 
half of himself, to repeat the frauds of 
1844 against Clay, should be chagrined 
at his failure, and that he and his par- 
tisans should so fiercely denounce fraud 
against the Eepnblicans as they did in 
1844 denounce Clay and the Whigs. 

Gamblers' conspiracy at the bottom of 
these grave Democratic crimes — And 
Tilden's guilty participation in them. 

That Henry Clay was entitled, and 
confessedly entitled, to the electoral 
votes of the States of New York, Penn- 
sylvania, Georgia, and Louisiana— 
seventy-eight in all — which, by fraud, 
by the " counting in " process which the 
Democracy now charge against the Ee- 

Eublicans, were counted for Polk, we 
ave before us the proofs in a number 
of shapes. They cannot be questioned. 
In 1844 a combination of gamblers, 
through a system of betting all over the 
country in favor of Polk, as in the can- 
vass of 1876 in favor of Tilden, secured 
by their winnings the means of defray- 
ing the expenses of the frauds. That 
was notoriously so in New York, Penn- 
sylvania, and Louisiana. Horace Gree- 
ley, in 1848, in one of his " Open Letters 
to a Politician " — to Samuel J. Tilden — 
reminds Tilden of these grave crimes, 
and of his participation in them. All 
mav see the details at length in Gree- 
ley's Life of Henry Clay, in Calvin Col- 
ton's, in "The Whig Eeview," and kin- 
dred works, of the wholesale and sys- 
tematic villainy, the great crime by 
which the illustrious Clay was defrauded 
of New York and the other States— by 
agencies similar to those which, in 1868, 
in New York, Tilden "counted in" 



Seymour and Hoffman when Grant and 
Griswold had carried the State. 

"Counting in" peculiarly a Democratic 
process— The bogus Democratic vote 
of Sfew York in 1844— The Pennsylva- 
nia ^Democratic frauds of that year. 

This " counting in" is peculiarly a 
Democratic process — an invention to 
which the Democracy, and only the 
Democracy, have a sole and undisputed 
right. 

In New York, in 1844, of the popular 
vote Polk was in a minority of 10,706 
votes. His plurality over Clay was only 
5,106. That he obtained in the city and 
its surroundings by fraudulent natural- 
ization, by repeating and ballot-box 
stuffing ; by the manufacture and count, 
through such infamous agencies, of from 
10,000 to 15,000 bogus votes. Some place 
the number as high as 20,000. 

In Pennsylvania the frauds were 
equally flagrant. Ak the October elec- 
tion it was admitted by the best posted 
of the Democracy that Clay in the State 
was at least 10,000 votes stronger than 
General Markle, the Whig candidate 
for Governor. Hence, in order to beat 
Clay in November, Shunk's majority 
must reach 10,000. It was only 4,282, 
fully 6,000 less than the Democratic es- 
timate as absolutely necessary to beat 
Clay. Nevertheless, Clay was beaten. 
His vote, as the Democracy had calcu- 
lated, was 5,200 greater than Markle's, 
and was drawn principally from Shunk's; 
yet Polk's majority in the State was 
6,332. 

The Democratic "model" which in- 
spired Tilden's infamous Democratic 
secret circular of 1868. 

It was in this canvass in Pennsylva- 
nia that the model of Tilden's infamous 
confidential circular of 1868, by which 
he arranged the machinery for the 
fraudulent count of New York for Sey- 
mour and Hoffman, appeared as a secret 
circular, dated " Harrisburg, January, 
1844," and signed by Edward A. Penni- 
man and seventeen Democratic mem- 
bers of the Pennsylvania Legislature as 
an executive committee. It was dis- 
tributed only among the faithful, with 
the injunction that its " contents should 
be made known only to such of our 
(Democratic) friends as will keep 
their own counsel and assist in or- 
ganizing the party ;" and urged that "it 
is very desirable that it should not ap- 
pear in any newspaper or be communi- 
cated to our political opponents." It 
particularly enjoined the faithful " to 
secure a large turnout at the election 
of judges and inspectors (of the polls). 
This done, we shall have the vantage 
ground, and an easy victory will be 
ours." So it proved. By securing the 
judges and inspectors of the polls, the 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



07 



-count of any number by the Democracy 
was a very easy matter. 

The Democratic frauds that in 1844 
gave Georgia to Polls. 

In Georgia, in 1844, and it may be so 
now, by the tax-list, the exact number 
of legal voters in the State could be 
readily ascertained. By that list there 
were in the State 78,611 votes. At the 
Presidential election 86,277 votes were 
cast. Even supposing, therefore, that 
every legal voter in the State attended 
at the polls— the decrepid, aged, sick, 
and dying— there was still a fraud of 
7,666 votes. By whom were these polled ? 
In the Whig counties less than the legal 
vote as shown by the tax-list was 
polled ; but in the Democratic counties 
of Forsyth, Lumpkin, Habersham, and 
Franklin the lawful vote was 3,202. 
They returned a vote of 4,014 for Polk 
and 1,825 for Clay— in all 5,835— a fraud 
in these four counties alone of 2,633; 
and so on throughout all the Democratic 
counties of Georgia. Nevertheless, 
Polk's majority in the State was only 
2,077. 

The infamous Democratic frauds in 
Louisiana— Open, notorious, shame- 
ful. 

I 

In Louisiana the frauds were truly 
villainous. No attempt was ever made 
to disguise or cover them. They were 
open, notorious, and shameful. John 
Slidell was their infamous engineer, I 
and under his manipulation thousands 
of fraudulent votes were counted for | 
Polk in New Orleans and all along the 
Mississippi River. A single instance 
will illustrate all. Up to the day of the i 
rebellion— up to 1861— the largest aggre- 1 
gate vote polled in Plaquemme parish 
was 550 ; in 1844 it gave Polk 1,007 ma- 
jority, while his majority in the State 
was only 699. 

Thus Tilden and the Democracy of 1844 
"counted in" Polk. 

Thus in 1844, throughout the country, 
fraud by Tilden and the Democracy was 
reduced to a system. Through its re- 
sults James K. Polk, the weak but am- 
bitious tool of the pro-slavery oligarchy, 
was "counted in," and the gallant 
and patriotic Clay, the illustrious 
"Great Commoner," whose services 
to the nation in war and peace 
constitute the brightest pages of its civil 
history, was robbed of the Presidency- 
was robbed by Tilden and the Democ- 
racy. 

The Pennsylvania Democratic frauds 
by which, in 1857, intrepid Fremont 
was robbed of the Presidency and 
Buchanan, the Pliant Tool of the 
Oligarchy, "counted in." 

Later, in 1857, by similar frauds in 



Pennsylvania, by the same parties, ac- 
, comphshed through like agencies, J ohn 
• C. Fremont was cheated of the same 
j high office, and James Buchanan, an- 
I other weak and equally pliant tool of 

the oligarchal conspirators of 1844, was 
I fraudulently placed in the chair of 
, Washington, manifestly under pledges 
; to complete the traitorous work for the 
, destruction of the Republic begun by 
. Polk. 

Tilden's wholesale frauds in 187G at ilie 
STorth— His Mississippi shot-^un pol- 
icy at the South. 

The campaign of 1876, was modeled 
upon that of 1844. By similar agencies or 
arts, by wholesale and systematic frauds 
in the North, he succeeded in carrying 
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, 
and Indiana; and in the South, by the 
murderous Mississippi shot-gun policy, 
effected the manufacture of the ficti- 
tious figures which constitute his pre- 
tended popular majority. 

What miseries the success of the Dem- 
ocratic Frauds of 1844 and 1S57 en- 
tailed upon the Nation. 

In 1844, and 1857 the oligarchal con- 
spirators succeeded in disfranchising 
the nation. In 1876 they failed only by 
a count of one. In 1844 their fraudu- 
lent success entailed upon the nation 
the crimes of Polk's disastrous reign - 
the "unholy" Mexican war for the ag- 
grandizement of slavery, exacting of 
the nation a sacrifice of thousands of 
lives and hundreds of millions of treas- 
ure; his iniquitous free-trade tariff; 
his hostility to internal improvements 
and kindred measures, all in the inter- 
est of the pro-slavery oligarchy; (he 
fatal reopening of the slavery question, 
precipitated by the struggle of the sec- 
tions for the possession of the territory 
seized from Mexico, and which, in 1861, 
under the manipulation of Buchanan 
and the Democracy, culminated in the 
appalling crimes of the Rebellion. 

The success of the Democratic frauds of 
1S76 would have brought upon the He- 
public Humiliation and Ruin. 

In 1876 their success was intended to 
be as disastrous as those of 1844 and 
1857. The Confederacy had failed in 
its attempt to destroy the Eepublic. Its 
prestige and pride were humbled, and 
in the murderous struggle provoked by 
its crimes its losses had been immense. 
Tilden's success was intended to redress 
all that. A restoration of the Confed- 
erate to power and place in the Govern- 
ment was to be followed by the humili- 
ation of loyalty— the abasement of the 
nation at the feet of the rebel ; and the 
ruin of the Republic was to be effected 
by the confiscation of its property and 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



means in the payment of thousands of 
millions of fraudulent claims as indem- 
nity to the Confederate for losses in the 
Rebellion. 



PART II. 

Democratic Cry tbat Tilden in 1876 was 
elected President — That Tilden was 
Counted Out by the Louisiana and 
Florida Returning Boards— That, not- 
withstanding-, Tilden had an Immense 
Majority of the Popular Vote— The cry 
a part of the Tilden Conspiracy in 1876 
to Seize the Presidency through Law- 
lessness and Fraud. 

The Democratic party pertinaciously 
continues the cry that in 1876 Tilden 
was elected President — that he was 
counted out by the returning boards of 
Louisiana and Florida, and that, not- i 
withstanding, he had an immense major- 
ity on the popular vote. No intelligent 
Democrat believes that this cry has any i 
basis of truth. All such understand its j 
purpose. It is persisted in only as a part , 
of the conspiracy in 1876, by which Til- 
den and the Democracy proposed and 
labored to seize the Presidency through 
violence and fraud. 

It is a Majority of the Electoral Col- 
leges, not a Popular Majority, which 
Fleets the President — The People do 
not Vote for President, but for Elec- 
tors, who choose the President— Elec- 
tors not Constitutionally bound to 
Vote for the Candidates supported by 
those who appoint them — Electors 
appointed by the supporters of one set 
of Candidates may Lawfully Vote for 
an opposite set, or for Men not even 
Mentioned in the Canvass. 

Now, under the Constitution, it is the 
majority of the electoral colleges, not 
the popular majority, by which the 
President and Vice-President of the 
United States are chosen. The people 
do not vote for President, but for elec- 
tors, who choose the President and 
Vice-President. All that the people can 
legally do, under the Constitution, in 
the election of a President, is to mani- 
fest their preference for the men they 
propose shall till that high office by ap- 
pointing electors who may favor those 
men ; but even then the electors are not 
bound by the Constitution or the law to 
vote for the men thus preferred, nor 
was it intended by the trainers of the 
Constitution that the electors should be 
influenced in the choice of a President by 
any other consideration than the public 
good as it appears to their individual 
judgments, It would therefore be per- 



fectly lawful and consistent with their 
oaths, consistent with their duty under 
the Constitution, for an elector or a ma- 
jority of electors chosen by the support- 
ers of one set of candidates to vote for 
the candidates of the opposite party, or 
for men not even mentioned in the can- 
vass for electors. 

Custom, or the Law of Parties, which 
has become the Unwritten Law of the 
Land, has practically Amended t he- 
Constitution in that particular —Wash- 
ington and Adams and Jefferson not 
Formally Nominated by Party— Cho- 
sen President as the First Citizens of 
the Republic. 

But custom or the law of parties, 
which has become the unwritten law of 
the land, has practically or in effect 
amended or changed the Constitution in 
this particular. Washington and the 
elder Adams were not formally nomi- 
nated by any body of men which might 
be styled a party or representative body, 
as is the practice to-day in the nomina- 
tion of candidates. Nor indeed wa-s- 
Jefferson . Washington and Adams were 
the most eminent, the widest known, 
and the most popular men of their day, 
and as such, although identified as lead- 
ers of the Federal party, received a ma- 
jority of the votes of the electoral col- 
leges. 

Presidential Election of 1800— Jefferson 
ami. Burr received the Same Electoral 
Vote, 73— Constitutional provisions at 
that date respecting the Election of 
President— No Choice by the Electoral 
Colleges in 1800 — The Election de- 
volved upon the House of Representa- 
tives. 

In the presidential campaign of 1800 
Jefferson and Aaron Burr both received 
the same vote, (73,) which was a major- 
ity of the electoral colleges. As the 
Constitution then read, candidates for 
President and Vice-President were not 
voted for separately, but the electors- 
cast their votes for two men, with- 
out specifying which of the two they 
preferred for President or Vice-Presi- 
dent. In the counting of the electoral 
colleges by the House oi Representatives, 
the man who had the greatest number 
of votes cast by the colleges, if a major- 
ity of the whole, was declared Presi- 
dent of the United States, and the one 
who had the next highest vote was de- 
clared Vice-President. But in a case 
like that of Jefferson and Burr, in 1801, 
where the two men receiving the high- 
est had the same vote, there was no- 
choice of President, and the election of 
a Chief Magistrate devolved upon the 
House of Representatives. 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



I>a nsrer to the Republic growing out of 
the Contest in the House between the 
Supporters of Jefferson and Burr 
strongly tests the Patriotism of House 
and People— Amendment of the Con- 
stitution providing for Separate or 
Distinct Ballots for President and 
Vice-President— Under the Unwritten 
Law of Party the People do in effect 
Vote for President— The Practical 
Force of that Unwritten Law. 

The excited contest which ensued in 
the House, and which soon extended to 
the people, between the supporters of 
Jefferson and Burr, was one of real 
danger to the Republic. It alarmed 
and strongly tested the patriotism of the 
House and people. It admonished all 
that a change in the method of choosing 
a President and Vice-President was de" 
manded by the safety of the Govern- 
ment and the peace of the nation, and 
the Constitution was accordingly so 
amended as to provide for separate or 
distinct ballots for President and Vice- 
President. It retained the electoral col- 
leges, making no alterations in their re- 
sponsibility or powers, and also pro- 
vided that a majority of the whole 
vote cast by the colleges should be , 
necessary to elect. But under the sub- ■ 
sequent organization of parties, and j 
their practice through conventions of j 
nominating candidates for President 
and Vice-President, and placing the 
names of the candidates thus nomi- | 
nated at the head of their electoral 
tickets, have in effect established an un- 
written law which practically super- 
secies the rule of the Constitution. In ef- 
fect the people do thus vote for Presi- 
dent. For, so strong is the force of this 
unwritten law, that should electors, in 
the exercise of their undoubted lawful 
right, vote for men different from the 
ones indicated by the votes of those who 
appointed them, 'they would be forever 
dishonored. Such a vote, indeed, under 
the circumstances, would amount to a 
violation of a weighty and solemn trust, 
and probably defeat the will and best 
interests of the nation. 

A Majority of the Popular Vote not Xe" 
cessary to a Choice of a Majority of 
Presidential Electors— A Popular Mi- 
nority, under the Constitution, can 
and has Chosen a President— Illustra- 
tions of the Workings of the Constitu- 
tional Provisions respecting the Ap- 
pointment of Electors and the Choice 
of a President. 

Nor is a majority of the popular vote 
necessary to a choice of a majority of 
electors, and consequently necessary to 
a choice of a chief magistrate of the Re- 
public. A minority of (he popular vote 
of the nation, or rather a mere plurality, 



can, under the Constitution, appoint, 
and has again and again appointed, a 
majority of electors : a mere popular 
plurality, or an actual minority, of the 
whole vote, has again and again chosen 
a President. 

Each State is entitled, under the Con- 
stitution, to as many votes in the elec- 
toral colleges as it has Senators and 
Members in Congress. Hence, in many 
States, the electors may be chosen by 
small majorities — by majorities even of 
one in each — while those of the other 
States may swell into thousands. Thus 
candidates having a majority of the 
electors may be chosen by States polling 
the smallest majorities for the colleges, 
and be in a minority of the aggregate 
popular vote of the Eepublic. 

Again, the small States like Delaware 
and Nevada, each of which have but one 
member of the House, but each has two 
Senators, are under the Constitution 
each entitled to three presidential elec- 
tors. Heuce, at the presidential elec- 
tion of 1876, Delaware and Nevada, 
while casting only an aggregate popular 
vote of 43,824, polled six votes in the 
electoral colleges — the same as Cali- 
fornia, which cast a popular vote of 
154,459. 

The Constitution a System of Checks 
and Balances]— Our Government a 
Representative Republic, not a De- 
mocracy. 

The Constitution has been well de- 
scribed by eminent jurists as a system 
of checks and balances, and our Govern- 
ment as representative republic. It is 
not a Democracy. 



PART III. 

Statistics in Illustration of 
ttie above — The Presiden- 
tial Election of 1844— Jas. 
J£„ Polk, in a Popular Mi- 
nority of 24,119, received 
in the Electoral Colleges a 
Majority of ©5. 

A few instances from our presidential 
elections will illustrate these facts. 

In 1844, at the presidential election, 
there were three sets of candidates voted 
for, to wit : 

for president: 

Democrat— Jas. K. Polk, of Tennessee. 
Wilis— Henry Clay, of Kentucky. 

Abolitionist— Jas. G. Birney, of New York. 

for vice-president: 

Democratic— Geo. M. Dallas, of Pennsylvania. 
Wilis— Theo. Frelinghuysen, of N. J. 

Abolitionist— Thomas Morris, of Ohio. 



70 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



The vote was — 

Popular Electo- 

vote. ral vote. 

For Polls: and Dallas 1,337,243 170 

For Clay and Frelingkuysen 1.299,062 105 

For Birney and Morris 662,300 

2,698,605 275 

Polk's plurality, or excess of votes 
over Clay, was 38,181 ; Clay's and Bir- 
ney's majority over Polk was 24,119; 
while Polk counted in the electoral col- 
leges 170 votes, and Clay 105 ; Polk's 
majority being 65. 

Presidential Election of 1848— General 
Zachary Taylor in a Popular Minority 
of 151,708 received in the Electoral 
Colleges a Majority of 36. 

In 1848, at the Presidential election, 
three sets of candidates were voted for 
to wit : 

FOR PRESIDENT : 

Deinocr t— Lewis Cass, of Michigan. 
Whig— Zachary Taylor, of Louisiana. 

Free-Soil— Martin Van Buren, of New York. 

for vice-president: 
Democrat— W. O. Butler, of Kentucky. 
Whig— Millard Fillmore, of New York. 
Free-Soil— Charles Francis Adams, of Mass. 



Pupu'ar 
vote. 

1,866,452 

1,375.157 

847,953 

590,631 


Electo- 
ral vote. 
180- 
12 
72 
39< 


4,680,193 


303 



The vote was : 

Popular 
vote. 

For Taylor and Fillmore 1,360,099 

For Cass and Butler 1,220,544 

For Van Buren and Adams. . 291,263 



2,871,906 



Electo- 
vote. 
163 
127 

290 



Taylor's plurality, or vote in excess of 
Cass's was 139,555; Cass's and Van Bu- 
ren's combined vote constituted a ma- , 
jority over Taylor's of 151,708, or 12,153 
votes larger than Taylor's plurality ; yet j 
Taylor in the electoral colleges counted 
163 votes, and Cass 127 ; Taylor's ma- 
jority being 36. 

Presidential Election of 1860 — Abra- 
ham Eincoln in a Popular Minority of 
947,288 receives in the Electoral Col- 
leges a Majority of 57— Analysis of the 
Popular and Electoral Totes at this 
Election, and its Extraordinary Re- 
sults. 

In 1860, at the presidential election, 
four sets of candidates were voted for, 
to wit : 

FOR PRESIEDNT : 

Secesh Democrat; — John C. Breckinridge, of Ky. 
Sq.Sov. Democrat— Stephen A. Douglas, of 111. 
Republican— Abraham Lincoln, of 111. 

Native American— John Bell, of Tenn. 

FOR VICK-PRESIDENT : 

Secesh Democrat — Jos. Lane, of Oregon. 
Sq.Sov. Democrat — Herschel V. Johnson, of Ga. 
Republican — Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine. 

Native American— Edward Everett, of Mass. 



The vote was : 



For Lincoln and Hamlin . . . 
For Douglas and Johnson. . . 
For Breckinridge arid Lane. 
For Bell and Everett 590,631 



Now, let us analyze this vote : 

Lincoln's plurality or vote in excess of 

Douglas's, the next highest, was 491,295- 

Douglas's vote over Breckinridge's was. 527,204 

Douglas's vote over Bell's was 784,526 

But the majority of the combined vote 
of Douglas, Breckinridge, and Bell 
over Lincoln's was 947,288- 

Thus Lincoln, on the total vote was 
in a minority of nearly a million votes 
but in the electoral colleges received a 
majority of 57. 

Let us examine this vote further. Let 
us examine it in the light of the relative 
percentages of the popular and electo- 
ral votes of the respective candidates. 
These were— 



Lincoln's 

Douglas's 

Breckinridge's . 
Bell's 



Percentage 
of popu- 
lar vote. 
39 
29 
20 
13 



Peicentage- 
of electo- 
ral vote. 
59 
4 
24 
13 



100 



Now, Lincoln, with only 3 
': the popular vote, rec 
cent, of the electoral colleges. 



of the popular vote, received 59 per 



39 p< 
ived 



Douglas, with 29 per cent, of the popu- 
lar vote, received only 4 per cent, of th& 
electoral vote. 

Breckinridge, with only 20 per cent, 
of the popular vote, received 24 per 
cent, of the electoral vote. 

Bell, with 13 per cent, of the popular 
vote, received also 13 per cent, of the 
electoral vote. 

Breckinridge, with a. popular vote one- 
third less than Douglas, received in the 
electoral colleges six times more votes 
than Douglas. 

Bell, with less than one-half the popu- 
lar vote of Douglas, received in the- 
electoral colleges over three times 
more votes than Douglas. 

And Lincoln, with a popular vote only 
10 per cent, greater than Douglas, re- 
ceived in the electoral colleges over 
fourteen times more votes than Doug- 
las. 

The above analysis makes clear Tilden'& 
cry of Fraud. 

This analysis verifies beyond all ques- 
tion or cavil the facts stated above ; 
that under the Constitution the choice 
of a President does not depend upon 
the popular vote, even when untainted 
by lawlessness or fraud, nor the ap- 
pointment of a majority of electors upon 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



71 



a popular majority; and the absolute 
fraud of the Tilden cry thus becomes 
clear and pronounced. 



PART IV. 

What was Til<len ? s major* 
ity? — What its Charac- 
ter?— Was it the Result 
of a Lawful Vote, or the 
Violent Product of whole- 



sale Fraud ? 
1876. 



The vote of 



for President, 1,815,009. Iucrease over 
the enumeration, only 14,370. 

In the last group, or Gulf States, the 
enumeration was 973,714 ; total vote for 
Hayes and Tilden, 890,811. Loss on the 
enumeration, 82,903. 

Recapitulation : In the free States, 
where the election was free, fair, and 
full, there was a gain of 772,059 voters. 
In the border slave States, where Re- 
publicans are kept in hopeless minori- 
ties, and did not cast their full vote, 
the increase was onlv 14,370. In the 
Southern Republican States, where Re- 
publican majorities were subverted by 
armed violence, the loss was 82,903. 

Assuming that the increase of voters 
in these States was of equal ratio to 
the free States, the increase over tlin 
enumeration would have been 114,714. 
Adding the loss of 82,903 to this amount, 
and we have 197,017 votes, or about one 

last 



But what was Tilden's majority?. 
What was its character ? Was it a ! lu S1X > uot cast m the- six States 
real or a fictitious majority— the result j named, 
of a real or lawful vote, or the violent ! 
product of wholesale fraud 1 Let us ex- ; 
amine into the popular vote of the sev- j 
era! States and the leading facts which j 
marked the Presidential election of ! 
1876 : 



The real voting strength 
States— Showing in 1870 
oretl majority of 57.335. 



of the Gulf 
a total col. 



The aggregate vote cast in 1876 was 8,411,136 

Tilden's vote 4,284,265 

Hayes' vote 4.033,295 

Cooper's vote 81,737 

All other votes 11,839 

4,126,871 



But there is another and still more re- 
liable method of ascertaining the real 
voting strength and popular will of 
those States. In 1870 the voters were 
divided as follows : 



White. 

Alabama 104,276 

Florida 19,211 

Georgia 127,785 

Louisiana 72,413 

Mississippi 76,577 

South Carolina 57,933 



Col'd- 
105,612 
20,170 
119,920 
80 126 
97,724 
91,978 



Total 458,195 515,530 

Colored majority 57,335 

And exhibiting a total Republican ma- 
jority of 183,335 in 1870. 



Tilden's apparent majority 157,394 

The popular vote in the Free States, 

Border States, and Slave States 

grouped and compared with census 
of voting- population. 

In the former (or present) free States 
there Avas cast a total of 5,622,210 votes, 
of which Hayes received 2,939,729 and 
Tilden 2,682,481 ; majority for Hayes, I 
257,248. In ascertaining the Republican 

In the States of Delaware, Maryland, strength South, two estimates may be 
Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, : made that are perfectly reliable. First, 
Tennessee, North Carolina, Missouri, ''• that the colored vote is solidly Repub- 
Arkansas and Texas the total vote was j lican; secondly, that a small per cent. 
1,830,219. For Hayes, 744,747; for Til- I of the white vote is Republican ; much 
den.. 1,085,472 ; Tilden's majority, 340,- depending on the locality and the tree- 
825. dom of election. The division of voters 

In South Carolina. Georgia, Florida, | on this basis is shown in the following 
Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana the table : 
vote was 890,811, of which Hayes re- 
ceived 362,231 and Tilden 528,590; Til- 
den's majority, 166,359. 

According to the census of 1870, the 
latest enumeration available, there were 
in the Northern States at that time 
4,850,151 male citizens over twenty-one 
years of age. The vote for President 
in those States, as has already been 
shown, was 5,622,210. Increase over 
the enumeration, 772,059. 

In the second group of States the 
enumeration was 1,800,639 ; total vote 



Republican. 

Color'd. White. 

Alabama 105,612 15,000 

Florida 20.170 3,000 

Georgia 119,920 20,000 

Louisiana 80.126 10,000 

Mississippi 97,724 10,000 

South Carolina 91,978 5,000 



315.530 



,000 



Demo- 
cratic. 
White. 

89,276 
16,211 
107.785 
62,413 
56,577 
52,933 

395,195 
..578.530 



Total Republican vote 

Total Democratic vote 395,195 

Republican majority 183.335 



72 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



These figures are based on the popu- 
lation and enumeration of 1870. 

Subsequent changes of population 
favored the Republicans, especially 
in South Carolina, Mississippi, and 
[Louisiana. 

Whatever changes had taken place 
since that time, and they were con- 
siderable, were favorable to the Repub- 
licans. This was notably true of South 
Carolina, Mississippi, and Louisiana. 
These three States continued under Re- 
publican control long after the States 
adjoining had fallen under Democratic 
dominion. Democratic rule was ac- 
companied by the abolishment of col- 
ored schools and harsh and prescriptive 
administration. Thereupon there was 
an exodus of negroes from those States 
to the others, where the rights and in- 
terests of their race were respected, 
their children educated, and the ruling 
powers were friendly. The States of 
Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, 
Arkansas, and Texas contributed many 
thousands of their colored voters on 
this account to South Carolina, Mis- 
sisssippi, and Louisiana. The last 
Presidential election affords abundant 
proof of this statement. Take 

South Carolina, 

for example. The vote in this State for 
the years named was as follows : 

1868— Republican 62,301 

Democratic 45,207 

Republican niaj ority 17,094 

1870— Republican 85.071 

Democratic 51,537 

Republican maj ority 33,534 

1872— Republican 72,290 

Democratic 22,703 

Republican majority 49,587 

It has already been shown that the 
total white vote in 1870 was 57,933, and the 
colored vote 91,978, the total being 149,- 
911, and the colored majority 34,545. 

1876— Republican vote 91,870 

Democratic , 91,076 

Total 182,946 

Vote Of 1870 149,911 

Increase 33,035 

A passing reference to the past white 
population of South Carolina leaves no 
doubt that this increase was almost 
wholly colored. The United States 
census furnishes the following figures 

Whites. 

1830 257,863 

1840 259,084 

185 ' 274,563 

1860 291,300 

1870 289,667 

Thus it will be seen that the white 
population of the State has been almost 



stationary for the past half century. It 
will not be argued by the Opposition 
that it has received marvelous increase 
under the very odious (!) Republican 
Administration since reconstruction. 
Whence, then, the 33,035 votes added to 
the poll-books ? If they are not white 
they must be colored, and that is the 
fact. Then we have the actual vote of 
South Carolina, confirmed by this test, 
as folio ws : 

Colored 124,033 

White 57,933 

Colored majority 66,100 

Mississippi Republican by 40,000 ma- 
jority, but " counted in " by " 51,500 
majority*' for Tilden. 

Next take Mississippi. The colored 
majority in 1870 was 21,157. Alcorn was 
elected Republican Governor in 1869 by 
a majority of 38,089. Grant's majority 
in 1872 was 35,119. It is admitted by all 
conversant with the political affairs of 
the State that the present colored ma- 
jority is fully 40,000. Yet Mr. Tilden 
carried the State, much as a storming 
party carries intrenchments, by a ma- 
jority of 51,468. How was this done"? 
Take the five following counties to il- 
lustrate : 



1869 



Rep. 
Hinds....* 3,819 

Lowndes . 4,082 
Madison.. 2,508 
Warren. ... 4,641 
Yazoo — 2,642 



Dem. 

1,415 
844 
629 

1,005 
815 



Rep. 

4,015 
3,217 
2,512 
4,709 
2,433 



Dem. 

1,539 



1,284 
922 



1876 

Rep. Dem. 

1,474 4,503 



2 

13 

623 

2 



2.073 
1,473 
2,036 
3,«72 



17,692 4,708 16, 



5,208 2,114 13,757 



Here was an actual loss of 15,578 Re- 
publican votes in four counties, and of 
6,223 on the aggregate vote of 1872, in 
counties where the colored vote has 
been increased by immigration fully 
2,500 since that year. The returns from 
other parts of the State are in keeping 
with these. What were the means 
which operated to effect this extraordi- 
nary change? They constituted what 
is known as the "Mississippi Plan." Its 
villainies are now all confessed even by 
its principal authors, and the assassina- 
tion of Dixon, a leader, in 1875, in the 
I execution of the plan as also the assas- 
sination of the Chisholms at the com- 
mand of the men it placed in power, 
I because he proposed to rebel against 
I their rule, were natural but terrible re- 
! suits of the violent tyranny it estab- 
■ lished. Hence, the State of Mississippi 
as rightfully belonged to Hayes and the 
Republican cause as Massachusetts or 
Vermont. But it was counted for Mr. 
Tilden upon a fraudulent majority of 
51,500. 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



73 



PART V. 

Florida — Bloody Violence 
failing. Fraud and Ju- 
dicial Usurpation re- 
sorted to— A Brief History 
of the entire series of 
Fraudulent Proceedings 
by which Tilden strove to 
Capture its Electoral vote 
— Facts, Figures, and In- 
cidents. 

But Mr. Tilden claimed that he was 
entitled to the electoral colleges of 
Florida and Louisiana, and pertinacious- 
ly charges that he was defrauded of 
them by the Returning Boards of those 
States. But what are the facts ? The 
following is a summary of the entire 
Florida case in brief : 

Bloody violence and Ballot-box De- 
bauchery. 

At the election in Florida of Presi- 
dential electors, November 7, 1876, every 
expedient, whether fraudulent or vio- 
lent, was employed by the Tildenites to 
secure a majority at the polls — at least 
to secure a majority on the face of the 
returns. In the Democratic counties all 
the election machinery was in the hands 
of the Tildenites. The "Mississippi 
shot-gun policy " was their favorite ; 
but when that failed, the resort was to 
debauch the ballot-boxes or manipulate 
the returns. A denial of bloody vio- 
lence during the canvass is not seriously 
pretended; it cannot be successfully 
maintained. 

The State at first conceded to Hayes- 
One vote needed for Tilden— The whole 
situation thereupon changes— The At- 
torney-General denies his master, the 
people— "And immediately the Cocke 
crew." 

Early after the day of voting the re- 
turns from the Republican counties were 
received at Tallahassee — Escambia, 
Gadsden, Leon, Jefferson, Madison, Al- 
achua, Duval, Nassau, and Marion ; and 
their aggregate majority (7,418 for 
Hayes) was publicly known. The returns 
from Baker and Dade subsequently in- 
creased that to 7,463. The State by the 
Democracy was conceded to Hayes by a 
handsome majority. It was not con- 
sidered probable that the Republican 
majority would or could be overcome 
in the Democratic counties; nor was it 
pretended as possible until the vote of the 
State became necessary to Tilden's elec- 
tion. Instantly, then, the whole situa- 
tion was changed. The State was 



claimed by the Democracy. A clamor 
of fraud was raised by them as a blind 
to the villainy by which the Tildenites, 
in the Democratic counties, remote from 
the capital and difficult of access, pro- 
posed to destroy Hayes' majority; and, 
as a part of the conspiracy to that end, 
the Democratic Attorney-General o1 the 
State telegraphed North : 

Tallahassee, Fla., November, 14, 1876. 
The returns from the county managers not 
yet in. The Board of State Canvassers, of which 
I, as Attorney-General, ani one, does not meet for 
thirty-live days after the election, hut you may 
rest assured that Tildeu has carried the State 
and Drew is elected. I do not think the Radi- 
cals can cheat the Democrats out of the State. 
William Archer Cocke. 

Now, if the returns were not yet in at 
I the date of this dispatch, where did 

Cocke get his information ? How did 
j he know the State had voted for Til- 
l den? The Republicans, from the re- 
I turns actually in, from their aggregate 
* majority as compared with the results 

of previous elections, knew that the 
I State had voted for Hayes by a decisive 
| majority. But how and where did 

Cocke obtain his information ? What 

special means had he of communicating 
j with the Democratic counties, so remote 
j from Tallahassee and so difficult of 

access ? Is not the answer plain ? 

First warning- to the Republicans— The 
Tilden Democrats cut the wires, wreck 
trains, and bulldoze the Governor's 
couriers. 

This dispatch of the Democratic At- 
tornej 7 - General of the State was a warn- 
ing to the Republicans of the fraudulent 
j plots at work. It aroused them to ac- 
tion. But all the efforts of Governor 
Stearns to secure the actual results of 
the election— to protect the ballot-boxes 
and returns from mutilation and fraud 
— were resisted by the most violent 
agencies. The telegraph wires were 
cut, a train, in which were some of the 
Governor's messengers to the western 
counties, was ku-kluxed and wrecked, 
and his couriers were intercepted and 
turned back with the warning threat 
that if they dared to proceed without a 
pass from Mr. Pasco, the chairman of 
the Democratic committee at Tallahas- 
see, they would be assassinated. 

But in spite of all this, and much more, 
Hayes has a majority on the face of 
the returns of 43. 






Even under such circumstances, with 
violence and fraud rampant throughout 
the Democratic sections of the State, 
the returns of all the counties, except- 
ing those of Dade, when opened on the 
28th of November, showed on their face 
a majority of 43 for the Hayes electors, 
to wit : 



74 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



Hayes Electors. Tilden Electors. 

Humphreys... 24.328 Yonge 24,284 

Pearce 24,324 Call 24,285 

Long 24,s23 Hilton 24,283 

Holden 24,328 Bullock 24,282 

The returns from Dade, which were 
received on Monday, December 4, were: 
For Hayes, 9; for Tilden, 4. 

Clamor of "fraud" against the Repub- 
licans — Bribery rampant — Tilden's 
"barrel of gold" at work. 

This result, although a serious disap- 
pointment to the Democracy, yet in- 
cited and nerved the Tildenites to re- 
newed clamors of fraud against the 
Republicans, and they now settled down 
in dead earnest to the desperate work 
of wresting the State from its Repub- 
lican majority. Falsehoods and false 
charges of fraud against the Repub- 
licans were systematically telegraphed 
over the country as a means of prej udging 
the canvass of votes, perjurers were re- 
cruited with bribes to sustain these 
charges, and unscrupulous partisan 
counsel, feed from the notorious "bar- 
rel of gold," were imported from the 
North to superintend and manage the 
efforts to capture the State for Tilden. 

The Board of State Canvassers— The law 
governing* their action. 

Under the fourth section of the law 
of Florida, approved February 27, 1872, 
the Board of State Canvassers consisted 
of the Secretary of State, Samuel B. 
McLin, who was elected its president ; 
Comptroller of Accounts Clayton A. 
Cowgill, and Attorney -General Wil- 
liam Archer Cocke. The two former 
were classed as Republicans ; the latter 
is a Democrat, and all three are native 
sons of the South. Under the same sec- 
tion the canvassing board is required to 
meet in the office of the Secretary of 
State within thirty-five days after any 
general or special election, and proceed 
to canvass the returns and determine 
and declare who shall have been elected, 
as shown by such returns. It com- 
mands: "If any such returns shall be 
shown, or shall appear to be so irregu- 
lar, false, or fraudulent that the board 
shall be unable to determine the true 
vote for any such officer or member, 
they shall so certify, and shall not in- 
clude such return in their determination 
and declaration" 

Attorney -General Cocke objected to as 
a member of the Board because of pre- 
judgment He goes on his knees and 
is forgiven. 

Hence the canvassing board began its 
sessions on the 27th of November. At- 
torney-General Cocke's unfitness to 
serve with the board was urged, on the 
ground that he had prejudged the case, 



even before the receipt of the returns, 
and that consequently he could not 
render an impartial judgment; but that 
gentleman, having earnestly pledged 
himself that he would be governed in 
his action by his oath and the facts, the 
objection to his acting was withdrawn. 

The Board, under Democratic counsel,, 
rule, and precedent, proceed to busi- 
ness and find a majority for Hayes. 

Under the written opinion of this gen- 
tleman, the Democratic Attorney-Gen- 
eral of the State, and the legal adviser 
of the Board, given in 1874, with the ap- 
plause of the Democracy, and in accord- 
ance with the practice adopted under 
that opinion in the canvass of that year, 
by which the Democracy so greatly prof- 
ited, a contest of the county returns, or 
of tiie vote of any county or of any pre- 
cinct of a county, was allowed. The 
Democratic Attorney-General in sub- 
stance declared : "It is the duty of the 
Board to seek the true returns." Ac- 
cordingly the Canvassing Board pro- 
ceeded to find the true vote of the State. 
The returns of the counties were opened, 
and upon their face, as stated above, 
showed a majority of 43 for Hayes. The 
subsequent return from Dade increased 
that majority to 48. 

The Democracy at once cry "Fraud"— 
The Republicans tax Democratic 
counties with "Shenanigan." 

The Democracy immediately assailed 
the returns from Baker and other coun- 
ties, and the Republicans filed objections 
to the returns from a number of Demo- 
cratic counties and precincts. All these, 
under the express commands of the laws 
of the State, the written advice of the 
Democratic Attorney-General, and the 
previous practice of the Board under 
both, the Board determined to inquire 
into. But the twenty-four uncontested 
counties — to wit, Brevard, Bradford, Cal- 
houn, Dade, Escambia, Franklin, Gads- 
den, Hillsborough, Holmes, Lafayette, 
Liberty, Madison, Marion, Putnam, Polk, 
Santa Rosa, Sumter, St. John's, Suwa- 
nee, Taylor, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton, 
and Washington— were first taken up 
and canvassed according to the face of 
the returns. 

The Board investigates for the "true" 
Returns— Much unanimity in its find* 
ings— The counties of Baker, Clay, 
Hernando, Nassau, Levy. Orange, 
Leon, Hamilton, Monroe, Jefferson.. 
and Manatee. 

The Board then entered into an in- 
vestigation for the true returns in the 
contested counties. The investigation 
was public. In all its proceedings, in 
all its findings, or means of ascertaining 
the true return, it acted upon the opin- 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



75 



ions and advice of its legal adviser, the 
Democratic Attorney-General of the 
State. It, of course, consulted other 
counsel. But those, in their opinions, 
only confirmed the general principles 
laid down for their rule of action by the 
Attorney -General. Indeed, there was 
little actual discord or difference among 
its members. Tims, in the counties of 
Baker, Clay, Hernando, Nassau, Levy, 
Orange, Hamilton, Leon, and Monroe 
the true return was found, as nearly as 
was possible, by the unanimous vote of 
the Board, Attorney-General Cocke vot- 
ing with his Republican associates in 
the findings and count. In Jefferson 
county sixty votes were unanimously 
deducted from the Republican count; 
the remainder of the county was count- 
ed. The vote of Manatee County was 
rejected because of the entire absence 
of all legal preparation for holding the 
election. No election, in fact, was held. 

Alachua County Democratic Ballot-box 
Stuffing - Bold Perjuries and Con- 
fessed Bribes. 

In Alachua county a determined effort 
was made by the Democracy to destroy 
the count of Acher precinct No. 2. It 
was largely Republican. All election 
day it was made the rendezvous of lead- 
ing Democrats. All day they plotted to 
destroy the vote of the precinct. But 
how? At night, after the close of the polls, 
the vote was canvassed, counted, and 
compared with the poll-lists, duly cer- 
tified and signed by all the election offi- 
cers — two Democrats and two Republi- 
cans—and, after the sealing of the bal- 
lot-boxes, the vote and majority was an- 
nounced — about the usual and previous- 
ly unquestioned majority. The ballot- 
boxes were then placed in the court- 
house, an insecure building, with loose 
shutters and yielding fastenings. This 
the Democrats guarded at night on the 
pretence of protecting the ballot-boxes ; 
but so negligently that some one en- 
tered, opened the boxes, extracted some 
of the ballots, and substituted others. 
But who ? The Republicans had no mo- 
tive for the act. The safety of those 
ballots was the guarantee of their re- 
turns. Their manipulation so as to 
change the announced and returned re- 
sult was their loss, but was an immense 
gain for the Democracy. There was no 
doubt in the matter. Even the bold per- 
juries and confessed bribes of the Demo- 
cratic witnesses, Green R. Moores and 
Floyd Dukes, demonstrate who were 
the guilty parties and what the manifest 
object of the crime. That no doubt 
should be had about the accuracy of the 
canvass, the Republicans verified their 
votes by the affidavits of the persons vo- 
ting; but the Democrats utterly failed 
in their attempt at aveiificationof their 
preteuded vote. Hence the canvassing 



board accepted and counted the returns 

thus verified. 

Baiter and Duval Counties— The Demo- 
cratic Deviltries in Jackson County— 
The Canvass Completed. 

In canvassing Baker count}'-, a Demo- 
cratic county, the Republican members 
of the board voted with Cocke; and in 
Duvall county, the board, after verify- 
ing the county returns by a comparison 
with the precinct returns, determined 
to count the vote. 

In Jackson county, Campbelton and 
I Friendship Church precincts were 
! thrown out because the elections and re- 
I turns were frauds upon the election 
laws. At the Campbelton precinct the 
ballot-box, at the adjournment for din- 
ner, was taken from the polling-booth, 
placed in an adjoining store unsealed, 
and concealed from the public. At the 
close of the poll the ballots were not 
counted nor compared with the number 
of names on the poll-list, and only 76- 
Republican votes were returned where 
133 swore that they had voted. At 
Friendship Church precinct the ballot- 
i box was hidden from the view of the 
I public and of the voters, even when vo- 
I ting; a supervisor — not an inspector — 
| received the ballots at a window above 
the heads of the voters, below the sill of 
which, out of sight, was placed the bal- 
lot-box. Instead of making and com- 
pleting the canvass at the polling-booth, 
without adjournment, and in view of the 
public, the boxes were removed two 
miles away to a bed-room, where the re- 
turns were made up without counting 
the ballots or comparing them with the 
poll lists. The county, with these de- 
ductions, was canvassed. That com- 
j pleted the canvass. 



Attorney-General Cocke's Admission — 
Manton Marble and other Tilden 
Agents "see " the Attorney-General. 

And in all its decisions the canvassing 
board was governed by the advice of 
the Democratic Attorney-General. In 
the rejection of Hamilton county Cocke 
was emphatic in his declaration that it 
should be rejected. He was equally de- 
cided in the rejection of Monroe. When 
appealed to for his legal opinion, he 
said: " It must be thrown out." But 
when the extent of the reckless charac- 
ter of the Democratic frauds began to- 
dawn upon him, he got frightened and 
nervous at the results of his advice. 
When compelled to reject Hamilton 
county, he said : " This elects Hayes. r ' 
When Jackson, with its eighty unpun- 
ished murders was passed in review and 
rejected, he said: " This elects Stearns." 
And he only proposed to recede from 
his action after an interview with Man- 
ton Marble & Co. But there was no re- 
treat. The board could only act upon 
the facts under the law in the light of 



76 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



its duty impartially performed. It 
could not exclude or count votes for the 
single purpose of electing Tilden and 
Drew; it must reject all returns vi- 
tiated by proved fraud. That it did, and 
that only. 

Final Result of Count— Mayes' Majority 
983— His real majority. 

The result, as found by the board, was 
as follows : 

FOR HAYES ELECTORS. FOR TILDEN ELECTORS. 

Humphreys 23,849 I Yonge 22,923 

Pearce 23,844 | Call 22,919 

Holden 23,848 I Hilton 22.921 

Long... 23,843 I Bullock 22,919 

Majority for Hayes, 923 ; and the evi- 
dence of their own witnesses before the 
Congressional investigating committee 
of 1876 demonstrates that if there had 
been a fair election, even an honest re- 
turn of the election actually held, Hayes' 
majority, instead of being only 923, 
would have ranged between 2,000 and 
3,000 votes. 

The baffled Tildenites Self-stultification 
— They fly to the Democratic Courts 
to Force the Defunct State Canvassing' 
Board to come to Life and Action. 
Yet the Democracy were not happy. 
Their situation was as deplorable as it 
was desperate. They had been baffled 
at every turn. Violence, fraud, bribery, 
and perjury had all failed them, and yet 
the State must be captured for Tilden. 
All will remember the situation. South 
Carolina had been surrendered. In Lou- 
isiana they had no hope. Hence Florida 
must be wrested from Hayes. But how 
to do it 1 How to assail the finding of 
the canvassing board"? It had acted 
under the law — under the Democratic 
theory of its meaning, and under the 
opinion and advice of the Democratic 
Attorney -General, the highest law offi- 
cer of the government of Florida. Stul- 
tification was their only recourse. They 
must assail the powers of the board. 
They had contended that it was clothed 
with judicial powers ; that its duty was 
to go behind the returns and find the 
true vote. They now assailed that po- 
sition. They appealed to the State Court 
to compel the canvassing board, a polit- 
ical body, and that body functus officio 
under the law creating it, it having per- 
formed the functions imposed upon it by 
law and adjourned sine die, they ap- 
pealed to the judiciary to force the 
board to revive, to review its canvass of 
the votes of the State, and to count in 
Tilden and Drew ; to the court to per- 
form a political and partisan act for the 
maintenance of crimes, of which mur- 
der, ballot-box stuffing, forgery of re- 
turns, bribery, and perjury were the de- 
monstrated elements. 

The Democratic Court Complies — An 
Usurpation— Hayes still in a Majority. 

The Democratic court readily com- 



| plied. Its mandamus to the canvassing 
I board was an usurpation as violent as 
j it was novel, It was a process unknown 
i to the law. It violated the laws of 
- Florida. It changed the court, from a 
! judicial to a political and partisan body, 
| into a canvassing board, and transferred 
J the powers and duties of the board, a 
i body constituted of three members, un- 
! der the laws of Florida, to the court, in 
| the person of a single judge. Now, a 
mandamus may issue compelling an offi- 
cer to act, to perform the functions of his 
| office, but a mandamus instructing a po- 
j litical body in the manner of perform - 
I ing its duties, dictating to a canvassing 
i board what it shall count in determin- 
I ing the result of a political election, was 
i an usurpation without a precedent. 
! Even under the re-canvass thus forced 
through the judiciary in violation of 
law, the Hayes electors had still a major - 
vity by the very vote which elected Drew. 
Further Usurpations by the Democratic 
Judiciary, and Democratic State leg- 
islature—All parts of the Tilden Plot. 
Like its mandamus to the canvassing 
board, the quo warranto proceedings of 
this debauched court against the elec- 
toral college of the State— an inquiry to 
a body functus officio (dead in law,) by 
what right it performed certain func- 
tions before it expired, was an "abso- 
lute novelty " in law ; an usurpation as 
violent as its purposes were fraudulent, 
The acts of the Democratic Legislature 
of Florida were of a like character ; sim- 
ply usurpation without a precedent, re- 
troactive acts to reverse proceedings 
complete, legal, and final under the laws 
of the United States and the laws of 
Florida at the date of their perform- 
ance — all acts, indeed, in pursuance of a 
conspiracy for the triumph of fraud and 
crimes without a parallel in the history 
of the Republic. 

part" VI. 

Louisiana — Its Population 
and Votes— The Ku-klux 
Crimes of 1868— Tilden 
Rifle Clubs of 1876— Mur- 
derous Outrages in Seven- 
teen Parishes — Si ate Re- 
turning Board— Its Du- 
ties — Infamy of Tilden 
and the Democracy. 

The following facts and figures prove 
the Republicanism of Louisiana and the 
crimes of the Tilden Democratic con- 
spiracy against it : 

Population and voters — Republican 
majority of 20,000 at least. 

In 1875 the male population of Louis- 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



77 



iana according to the State census, was: 
Whites, 404,916 ; colored, 450,611. Of the 
white males thousands were aliens and 
n on -voters, merely residents of the 
State, engaged in commercial pursuits 
under the treaties with France ceding 
Louisiana to the United States. In No- 
vember, 1876, on the day of the Presi- 
dential election, the registration in the 
State stood : Whites, 92,996 ; colored, 
115,310, showing a Republican majority 
on the face of the register, upon the 
colored line alone, of 22,314. It is esti- 
mated that in the State there were not 
less than 10,000 white Republicans, while 
not half that number of colored men 
voted the Democratic ticket. It is there- 
fore a moderate estimate j ustified by an 
overwhelming array of facts, developed 
during the campaign, that on election 
day, with a legal and quiet poll of the 
entire vote of the respective parties, 
the Republican majority in the State, at 
the smallest figure, was 20,000 votes. 
The Democratic plot— The Tilden con- 
spirators' secret circular. 

The Tilden Democratic conspirators, 
backed by no end of Tilden "barrels of 
gold," and their minds inflamed by the 
lust of untold millions in fraudulent 
rebel claims, decided to overcome this 
large Republican majority by a deep and 
devilish plot. 

In a "confidential" circular of the 
Democratic Conservative State Central 
Committee, at New Orleans, signed by 
J. W. Patton, president, and P. J. Sul- 
livan, secretary, the organization of 
clubs was directed in the different 
parishes. The circular urged that in 
conversation no gloomy forebodings 
should be indulged in, and that the re- 
sult of the election should be spoken of 
as a foregone conclusion, "as we have 
the means of carrying the election, and 
intend to do so. But be careful to say 
and do nothing that can be construed 
into a threat or intimidation of any 
character." Frequent meetings of all 
these clubs were enjoined. Their mem- 
bers were instructed to occasionally 
assemble at their several places of 
meeting, and to proceed thence on horse- 
back to the central rendezvous. "Pro- 
ceedings of that character would im- 
press the negroes with a sense of the 
united strength" of the Democracy. 
And it directed that on election day, at 
each polling place, affidavits should be 
prepared, affirming "that there has been 
no intimidation and no disturbance on 
account of any efforts by the Democratic 
Conservative party to prevent any one 
from voting on account of race, color, 
or previous condition of servitude." 

. How secret instructions were carried 
out— Rifle clubs and " Knights of the 
White Camelia"— Dragooning the Par- 



ishes—Mutilation, Maiming, Whip- 
ping, Murdering, and General Terror. 

It was a villainous conspiracy and 
literally pursued to its devilish conse- 
quences. Clubs were formed in the 
parishes. The old murderous White- 
Leaguers re-organized as rifle clubs, as 
"Knights of the White Camelia." 
These, mounted, masked, and armed, 
dragooned the parishes night and day 
and ruled in terror and blood, amid 
assassination and outrages, and violence 
of every degree and kind — mutilation, 
mannings, and whippings. No age or 
sex was respected — none was spared. 
The evidence, multiplied in a hundred 
shapes, is overwhelming, and is as re- 
volting in its terrible details as it is 
conclusive in its proofs. The historical 
sanguinary violence of the "Franco- 
Spanish blood" — the sources of Louis- 
iana's white population — was indulged 
without restraint The old hellish ter- 
rorism of Murat, Couthon, and St. Just, 
those cruel demons of the French revo- 
lution of 1798, was revived in Louis- 
iana in all its frightful horrors. Indeed, 
throughout the canvass, prior to elec- 
tion day, murder was king, intimida- 
tion rioted as absolute tyrant. 

The election— How the true result was 
to be determined— The State Return- 
ing Board— Its duties under the law. 

The election was held. To determine 
the true result was the duty, under the 
laws of Louisiana, of the State canvass- 
ing board. " The statute organizing 
that board declares in substance" as 
stated by Senator Sherman, "that when- 
ever from any poll or voting place 
there shall be received by the board the 
statement of any supervisor of regis- 
tration or commissioner of election, 
confirmed by the affidavits of three or 
more citizens, of any riot, tumult, acts 
of violence, 4 intimidation, armed dis- 
turbance, bribery, or corrupt influences 
which prevent, or tend to prevent, a 
fair, free, and peaceable vote of all 
qualified electors entitled to vote at 
such polls, the board shall proceed to 
investigate the facts, and if from such 
statement and affidavits they shall be 
convinced that such causes did not 
materially interfere with the purity 
and freedom of such election, or pre- 
vent a sufficient number of qualified 
voters from voting to materially change 
result of the election, then such votes- 
shall be canvassed and compiled; but 
if they are not thus fully convinced, it 
shall be their duty to examine further 
testimony in regard thereto, and to 
that end shall have power to send for 
persons and papers ; and if, after exam- 
ination, the board shall be convinced 
that such acts of violence, intimidations 
&c, did materially interfere with the 
purity and freedom of the election at 






78 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY, 



such poll, or did prevent a sufficient 
number of qualified voters from regis- 
tering or voting to materially change 
the result of the election, then the 
board shall not canvass or compile the 
vote of such poll, but shall exclude it 
from their returns." 

•Why tlie State Returning Board was 
created— Terrible Ku-Klux doing's of 
1S68— The parishes of Orleans, Caddo? 
Saint Landry, and others. 

What compelled the State to create 
this Canvassing Board ? It was to pro- 
tect the State against the "Ku-Klux 
Klan," which by a series of sanguinary 
atrocities in 1868 had endeavored to in- 
timidate the colored vote, uproot in the 
State all the guarantees by which free- 
dom and the suffrage is protected, to 
purge the State of the "stigma of negro 
equality," and seize the State govern- 
ment. Thus one-half of the State— 
those counties in which colored majori- 
ties prevailed— was, just preceding the 
Presidential campaign of 1868, "over- 
tuu by violence, midnight raids, secret 
murders and open riots. Ku-Klux no- 
tices were scattered everywhere, warn- 
ing the colored men not to vote." 

In the documents accompanying Presi- 
dent Grant's special message to the 
Senate, January 13, 1875, communicating 
the proofs of numberless atrocities at 
Colfax and elsewhere in Louisiana, is a 
communication from Lieutenant Gen- 
eral P. H. Sheridan, dated New Orleans, 
January 10, 1875, to the Secretary of 
War, in which he says : 

"Since the year 1866 nearly 3,000 persons, a 
great majority of whom were colored men, 
have heen killed and wounded in this State. 
In 1868 the official record shows that 1,884 were 
hilled and wounded. From 1868 to the present 
time no official investigation has heen made, 
and the civil authorities, in all hut a few cases, 
have heen unahle to arrest, convict, and pun- 
ish perpetrators. Consequently there are no 
•correct records to he consulted for inforaiation. 
There is ample evidence, however, to show that 
more than 1 200 persons have heen killed and 
wounded during this time on account of their 
political sentiments. Frightful massacres have 
occurred in the parishes of Bossier, Caddo, 
Catahoula, Saint Bernard. Saint Landry, Grant, 
and Orleans. The general character of the 
massacres in the above-named parishes is so 
well known that it is unnecessary to desc ihe 
them." * * * 

The "glorious Democratic victory" 
which ensued in 1868 was preceded by 
one of the most terrible massacres on 
record. The Republicans, colored and 
white, for days were hunted through 
swamps and fields, and over two hun- 
dred were killed and wounded. Thir- 
teen helpless captives were taken from 
the jail and shot, and a pile of twenty- 
five dead bodies was found in the woods 
buried. Having thus conquered the 
Republicans, having thus murdered or 
-expelled their white leaders, the masses 
were captured b3^ the Ku-Klux, marked 
with badges of red flannel, enrolled in 



clubs, led to the polls, and compelled to 
vote the Democratic ticket. They were 
then given certificates of the fact. 

The effect of this devilish system of 
terrorism is shown by selecting a few 
illustrations out of the frightful mass, 
as developed by Congressional investi- 

■gation : 

In the parish of Orleans, of its 29,910 
voters 15,020 were colored, and in the 
spring of 1868 the parish had polled 13,- 
973 Republican votes, but in the fall, for 
General Grant, only 1,178 were polled, a 
falling off of 12,795 votes. 

In the parish of Caddo there were 
2,987 Republicans. In the spring of 1868 
the Republicans carried the parish ; in 
the fall it gave General Grant one 
vote. 

In the parish of St. Landry, in 1868. 
the Republicans had a registered major- 
ity of 1,071 votes. In the spring the 
Republicans in the parish had polled a 
majority of 678 votes; in the fall not a 
vote was cast for General Grant. Sey- 
mour and Blair polled the full vote of 

I the parish — 4,787 votes. 

It was this systematic, organized 
deviltry which compelled the State to 

| create the State Canvassing Board with 
extraordinary powers to sit in judgment 

i upon the violent conspiracy of the 

j White League Democracy to wrest the 
local government from the control of 

| its lawful majority. Its duties were not 
merely to receive and count any and all 

! returns which might be forwarded to 
it. Its grand duty was to sit in judg- 

! ment upon all such returns, to sift and 
purge them of all fraud, and particu- 
larly of fraud perpetrated through or- 
ganized violence. Its legality was af- 
firmed by the Electoral Commission. 

What the Returning- Board did in 1876. 

How, then, in November, 1876, at its 
' canvass of the vote of Louisiana for 
I the appointment of Presidential elec- 
tors, did this board execute its respon- 
sible and perilous duties i "Wisely, 
justly, equitably, or the contrary 1 
{ What are facts ? 

Under the laws of Louisiana, under the 
1 express commands of those laws, re- 
1 quiring them to reject the votes of all 
; parishes in which intimidation and vio- 
| lence had defeated a free election, the 
I board rejected the votes of seventeen 
parishes — all of them Republican par- 
: ishes by large majorities, but in which the 
Democracy claimed 10,000 majority. 
Why did they reject them ? 
Another Democratic secret circular- 
Dreadful work in seventeen rejected 
parishes. 

In obedience to the "confidential" 
circular of the Democratic Central 
Committees of the State, organized 
clubs of masked, men mounted a and 
armed for months prior to the President 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



79 



■election, dragooned the parishes night 
and day, "marking their course by the 
whipping, shooting, wounding, maim- 
ing, mutilation, and murder of women, 
children and defenseless men, whose 
homes were forcibly entered while they 
slept, and, as their inmates fled through 
fear, the pistol, the rifle, the knife and 
the rope were employed to do their hor- 
rid, work." For this "horrid work" 
through systematic intimidation, 
through organized murder and outrage, 
heavy Republican parishes were selec- 
ted, like East and West Feliciana, East 
Baton Rouge, Morehouse, Ouachita, 
etc., all of which in every previous election 
had voted heavily Bepublican, and were 
manifestly selected because of their 
contiguity to Mississippi and Arkansas, 
to whose " border ruffians the appalling 
villany of the clubs might be charged-" 
In these seventeen parishes on election 
day there was a registered Republican 
majority of nearly 7,000 votes ; but the 
returns from those parishes to the re- 
turning board were : For Tilden, 21,123 ; 
for Hayes, 10,970— making a Democratic 
majority of 10,153. The Democracy de- 
manded that such returns, with fraud 
stamped upon their face, with the hor- 
rible agencies by which that fraud had 
been perpetrated notorious, should be 
counted for Tilden. Of course, with 
the certified proofs before it, the board 
demurred. Under the command of the 
law it was their duty to investigate. It 
did investigate, and the facts developed 
were revolting. 

The parish of Ouachita— The Binhgrave 
murder— The Finkston tragedy. 

Take any one of those parishes ; take 
Ouachita, for example. Inl868 it gave a 
Republican majority of 1,071 ; in 1870 it 
gave a Republican majority of 798; in 
1872 a Republican majority of 798; in 
1874 a Republican majority of 927. At 
the Presidental election in 1876, with a 
registered Bepublican majority of 1,040 a 
Democratic majority of 1,072 was re- 
turned. Early in August the Vienna 
Sentinel, a leading Democratic organ of 
the parish, boasted that in Ouachita the 
canvas had been reduced to a single 
ticket, the Democratic nominees. It 
boasted that the Republicans were 
wavering, disheartened, scared. A few 
Republicans still dared to keep the 
field, but it warned them that they 
vrere well known and watched, "and 
that the halter for their necks is already 
greased." Bernard H. Dinkgrave, one 
of those resolute few, a " white man, a 
culivated man, and a native of Louisi- 
ana, and against whose character no 
one has breathed a word," except that 
he was a Republican, was subsequently 
brutally assassinated. The details of 
the murder of Henry Pinkston, the 
murder of his babe in the arms of his 
wife, and the revolting outrage and 



mutilation of the person of his wife by 
a band of masked men, shocked even 
the humanity of the Democratic visit- 
ors at New Orleans. These are but few in- 
stances, illustrations, of a multitude of 
like cases attested by a " cloud of wit- 
nesses." Was it singular, therefore, 
that in these parishes the spirit of the 
colored man should be broken ; that he 
was " impressed" with the " strength " 
of the Democracy ; that hundreds in 
their terror fled from the polls, as they 
had from their homes, into the swamps 
and fields ? 

A comparison of Results iu the Bull- 
dozed Parishes with the parishes not 
"bulldozed"— lawful action of the 
Returning* Board —Infamy of Tilden 
and his Democracy. 
Thus throughout these seventeen par- 
ishes these were the agencies, this the 
diabolical system of terrorism through 
organized murder and outrage employed 
by the chivalrous "Knights of the 
White Camelia," in "bulldozing" a Dem- 
ocratic majority of 10,000 out of par- 
ishes entitled to a Republican majority 
of 7,000 ! In the other forty parishes of 
the State, where intimidation failed, a 
registered Republican majority of 15,- 
000 yielded an actual Republican ma- 
jority of 6,000. Under a fair or free 
election in the unfortunate " bulldozed" 
parishes, the majority in Louisiana for 
Hayes and Wheeler would have been 
greatly increased. Under the laws of 
the State the returning board could not 
restore the Republican majority. Al- 
though the proofs that thousands of 
Republican voters were disfranchised 
through intimidation were as over- 
whelming as their details were shock- 
ing and disgraceful to the State and na 
tion, although simple justice demanded 
the restoration of the Republican vote, 
yet the board was powerless to remedy 
the wrong in that way. It could on] y 
reject the "bulldozed" returns. Could 
it have rendered real justice by the re- 
storation of the legal vote which would 
have been polled in these parishes in the 
absence of intimidation, Hayes and 
Wheeler's majority in the State would 
have been between 10,000 and 15,000 
votes. No legal poll, such as is con- 
templated by the Constitution and the 
laws, would have depressed that major- 
ity. 

What, then, in the light of the facts, 
is the attitude of the Democracy declar- 
ing Tilden entitled to the Presidency 
upon the votes of Louisiana J ? Is it not 
simply infamous ? 



PART V. 

Relative Geographical Area, Wealth, 
Population and Intelligence in 1876 
of the Hayes and Tilden States. 

Now let us examine the results of the 



80 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



Presidental election of 1876 in the light 
of the area, wealth, population, and il- 
literacy of the States respectively 
voting for Tilden and Hayes. The fol- 
lowing statement, compiled from the 
census of 1870, shows the relative geo- 
graphical area, wealth, population , and 
intelligence in 1876 of the Hayes and Til- 
den States: 







£ 


^ £ 


> 






M 


o o 


CR 




a 
an 


E E 


CD 




m 


o o 


Cf? 




Hi 


Hj 




P 




J O 
<-i 


P 13 

CD CD 


CD 




Hay 


o 

p. 




2 o 


72 ® 






m 




P cf- 






<J1 


2" P 

CD ct- 


CD 




ej- » 


3D (T> 






§- S 


J 


/; 


02 




CD 


B 






S-- 














CD 
JO 










M 




» 








c 


10 


bO c 
CO 


31 


O 
00 


H CO 
gjfi 


% 




1 


>0 


00 j 

CO < 


o 
a 


00 

o 

05 


rop 








£ 


o 


-3 


-3 


' CD 














m 


ff, 00 CD 

3 O P 














to 






J 


| 


Ox 
CO 
-4 


3S 


50 


3 
ft 




; 


31 


*- 


x. 


fc» 


^pg 


> 




"t 


.0 


© 


-3 


^3 


• *-p 


P 




' 


JS 


-J 


3 


-q 


►p & 

4y 


H 




< 


» 


eo 


»• 


00 








-3 


w 


» 










• 


2 


-J 

to 


-5 


CO 










M (. 




CO 










00 





00 




















( 


^ 


co : 


-3 








'< 


-3 

.0 


<x> < 


JS 


Ox 
OX 


POPULATION. 


















! 


3 


K> 


O 


en 








-J 







o 






. < 


e 


CO 


o 






td 




H» 


A 


*. 


"1* 

P 00 

p 2 




1 

1 




00 ' .' 
to ( 

o < 


o 

» 


en 


B 












o P 


3 












^^? 


P 

O 












2.t=" 


CO 




©1 " 


2 




? C5^ 
p X 




«o 




-q 




Ox 




-^ 




W j 


.0 


<p 




o 




^-3 "( 


» 


OS 


p 2 

O P 








§ s 
















M 


e-t-aa 





The Hayes States embraced the High- 
est Intelligence, the Wealth, the Heav- 
iest Taxation and largest part of the 
National domain— As also the White 
vote of the Nation— The Tilden States 
the Ignorance, Poverty, and Crime, 
and Negro Vote. 

Hence the States represented in the 
vote of Hayes contain nearly 400,000 
square miles more of territory than the 
area embraced in the States represented 
by the vote of Tilden, and nearly 
$1,000,000,000 more of the wealth of the 
nation : while those represented by Til- 



den's vote embraced nearly all the ig- 
norance and consequent crime of the 
nation, and those represented by the 
vote of Hayes its very highest intelli- 
gence, the noblest culture and learning, 
as they do its greatest wealth and tax- 
ation, and the largest portion of its geo- 
graphical area. By a singular perver- 
sion of things, the vote of Tilden, the 
candidate of the men and party who la- 
bor to disfranchise the negro, to wrest 
from him all political power, represented 
the great bulk of the negro population, 
and Hayes's vote a vast majority of the 
white population, as it does the land, 
the wealth, and the intelligence of the 
Republic. 

The Hayes States embraced the Indus- 
try, Thrift, Wealth, and Morals of the 
Nation— The Tilden States darkened 
by the I>read Color-Iiine of Ignorance 
and Crime — The fraudulent vote oi 
New York. 

Analyze and run the parallel as you 
will, the result is the same ; in ]bhe rela- 
tive number of libraries, public and pri- 
vate, and in the number of their vol- 
umes; in the relative number of institu- 
tions of learning, and school facilities 
and attendance: in the relative number 
of authors and works published and 
read, and newspapers and periodicals 
printed; in the relative character of 
populations, their relative thrift, in- 
dustry, wealth, and morals; under every 
analysis and comparison, the dread 
color line of ignorance and crime bounds 
and darkens the Tilden States. That, 
too, while giving Tilden all the advan- 
tages of the notorious Democratic vio- 
lence and fraud at the election, while 
counting for him all the States he thus 
carried. Thus the electoral vote of 
New York was counted for him. But 
was he legally entitled to the vote ? He 
carried New York city and its surround- 
ings through the terrible frauds of its 
vicious classes. The State was 
heavily against him. Thus the city, by 
its frauds and crimes, disfranchised the 
legal majority in the State, and Tilden 
counted its electoral vote as the repre- 
sentative, not of its legal popular ma- 
jority, but of its Five Points and its 
criminal classes. 

The Tilden vote in Indiana, New Jersey, 
and Connecticut— Fraudulent Natur- 
alization, Wholesale Repeating, etc. 

In like manner, and for like reasons, 
Tilden counted the electoral vote of 
Indiana, only carried for him by the 
fraudulent Kentucky vote, principally 
in three counties, against the legal pop- 
ular majority of the State ; and of New 
Jersey and Connecticut, only carried 
for him by colonization, false naturali- 
zation and registration, and wholesale 
repeating, violently disfranchising, as 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



81 



in New York, the legal popular majori- 
ties of those States. 

In the Tilden States South, Crime rioted 
in all manner of Deviltry— His vast 
majorities in the Solid South the work 
of organized violence and fraud- 
States lifee Alabama and Miss- 
issippi, Republican by 40,000 and 
50,000 majority, made to give Tilden 
80,000. 

In the South the violence and fraud 
was even more notorious and flagrant, 
and the pretended popular majorities 
even greater cheats. The election, in- 
deed, was simply an infamous and 
bloody farce ; it was no election. In the 
States of Georgia, Kentucky, Arkansas, 
Tennessee, Texas, etc., with the State 
Governments and all the machinery of 
election under the control of the Confed- 
erates, no Republican organization or 
canvass was permitted, and the pre- 
tended popular majorities returned are 
simply the handiwork of their returning 
boards or State officers. In North Car- 
olina, there is little doubt the Re- 
publicans carried the State by a hand- 
some majority on the legal vote. The 
returns show that their candidates 
polled a heavier vote than was ever 
before polled by any party in the 
State, but the ballot-box stuffing in the 
Vance counties disfranchised the legal 
popular majority in the State. In Ala- 
bama and Mississippi crime rioted in all 
manner of deviltry. In the two States, 
both confessedly Republican by at least 
sixty or seventy thousand votes, the 
pretended Democratic majorities reach 
80,000 ; and as in Mississippi and Ala- 
bama, so by systematic intimidation, 
through organized violence and blood, 
they desperately attempted to wrest 
South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida 
from their legal Republican majorities. 

Tilden did not Lawfully carry Six of 
the Seventeen States counted for him— 
On L.awful vote was in an immense 
Minority of the popular vote as he 
was of the Nation. 

Hence, if we strike from Tilden's poll 
the majorities thus obtained through 
gigantic fraud, he did not carry six of 
the seventeen States claimed for him, 
and he would stand in an immense mi- 
nority of the legal popular vote, as he 
did in the representation of the wealth 
and intelligence n* thz nation. 

The Pre«^*k»nal Election of 1870 an in- 
famous and Violent Fraud, without a 
fterallel in the History of Free Gov- 
ernment — A Rebellion by all Malig- 
nant Agencies to Disfranchise the le- 
<yal popular majorities of the States— 
To destroy the popular principle un- 
derlying the Constitution and substi- 
tute tne Tyranny of the old Oligarchy. 



The infamous and violent fraud, in 
the form of an election in 1876, has no 
parallel in the history of free govern- 
ment. In 1861 the Democratic rebellion 
was, by force of arms, to destroy the 
Union, to blot out the Republic from 
the family of nations, and to errect an 
oligarchy, based upon negro slavery — 
upon the ruins of American liberty. In 
1876 the Confederate Democratic con- 
spiracy was but slightly modified— a 
rebellion by all malignant agencies, by 
systematic intimidation and fraud, 
though organized violence and mur- 
der, to disfranchise the legal popular 
majorities of the States, to subvert the 
Constitution, to destroy the popular 
principle underlying it and our laws 
and substitute for it, in the rule of the 
government and nation, the old oligar- 
chal tyranny ! 



PART VOL 

The United States under the 
Forty-Sixth Congress an 
Oligarchy. 

The Democratic Majority of the Mouse 
in a Minority of the Popular Vote by 
which they were Elected— A Minority 
of the Electoral Colleges— A Minority 
of the Population, Wealth, Taxes, and 
Intelligence of the Nation— The I it- 
lawful Domination of an Unprinci* 
pled Minority— Table giving the Facts 
and Figures. 

What is an oligarchy ? Webster de- 
fines an oligarchy as " a form of govern- 
ment in which the supreme power is 
placed in the hands of a few persons ; " 
that is, the rule or reign of a minority. 
And what in the United States, under 
the two Confederate Houses of the For- 
ty-sixth Congress was the character of 
the reign ? Was it not that or an oli- 
garchy — that of the unlawful domina- 
tion of an unprincipled minority— a mi- 
nority of the vote actually and pretend- 
edly cast in the election of the members 
of the House of Representatives, as also 
a minority of the electoral colleges — a 
minority of the population, of the 
wealth, taxes, and intelligence of the 
States and nation ; but which, through 
. violence and blood, and a multitude of 
•nfamous and fraudulent agencies seized 
upon a majority of the National Legis- 
lature, trampled under foot the Consti- 
tution and the laws, usurped the pow- 
ers of the minority, and despoiled it and 
the nation of millions annually through 
the taxation of its industry and wealth. 
The following table, compiled in 1879, 
from official data, demonstrates the 
truth of the above : 



82 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 
A. 





States. 


6 

o 
> 

o 
"S 

w 


<H<H 
O O 

a> 

S ai 
O « « 

hH > OT 

" w m 

&"£ SP 

oo S o 
oo o>^ 

O 


1 

a 
o 

ts 

5. 

O 
On 


OO 

,£3 


Illiteracy— cannot read, 
according to census 
of 1870. 


Taxation in 1878— 




From 
Customs. 


From 
Internal 
Revenue. 


1 


Republican. 

California 

Colorado 

Connecticut. ... 


6 

3 

6 

21 

11 

5 

7 

13 

11 

5 

3 

3 

5 

9 

35 

29 

4 

5 

10 




560,247 

39,864 

537,451 

2,539,891 

1,194,020 

364,399 

626 915 

1,457,351 

1,184,059 

439,706 

122 993 

42,491 

318 300 

906 0„6 

4,3S2,759 

3 521,951 

217 353 

330,551 

1,054,670 


$633,767,017 
2),243,303 
774,631 524 

2,121,680 579 
717644,750 
188,892 014 
348,155,671 

2,132.148,741 
719,208,118 
228,909,590 
69,277,483 
31,134,012 
252,624,112 
940,976,064 

6.500,841,264 

3 808,340,112 
296,965 ; 646 
235,319,553 
702,307,329 


24,877 

6,297 

19,680 

86,363 

24,115 

16 369 

13,486 

74,935 

34,613 

12,747 

2,365 

727 

7,618 

37,057 

163.501 

131,728 

15,416 

15,185 

35,031 


$6,444,933 20 


$2,146,790 

83,508 

580,336 

19,668.791 

908,851 

153,358 

70,696 

2,424,364 

1,602,803 

275003 

699,821 

, 59,017 

228,188 

5,095.325 

14,951,520 

5,917422 

246,760 

44,^9 

2,431,301 


2 


28,626 

102,423 

450,145 

257,986 

137 802 

121,478 

253,218 

255,423 

99.651 

50,217 

18,771 

75.605 

195.761 

806,482 

694,103 

18,242 

59,573 

206,172 


3 
4 


366167 97 

1,590,873 01 

16 55 


5 




6 


Kansas 


7 




319,601 34 

13,051,010 19 

273,497 52 

41,454 72 


8 

9 

10 

11 


Massachusetts.. 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Nebraska 

Nevada 


12 




13 

14 

15 
16 
17 
18 
19 


New Hampshire 
New Jersey. ... 

New York 

Pennsylvania.. 
Rhode'lsland .. 

Vermont 

Wisconsin 


14,324 86 

2,325 90 

93,085,262 81 

6,953,768 63 

162,443 97 

397,188 56 

53,883 88 


__ 


191 


3,834,684 


1<>,841070 


21,828,096 882 


722,115 


122,657,753 11 


57,638,194 


1 


Democratic. 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Delaware 


10 

6 

3 

4 

11 

15 

12 

8 

8 

8 

15 

10 

22 

3 

7 

12 

8 

11 

5 

178 


88,366 
49,884 
13,542 
39,562 
125 257 
406,288 
160,003 


996,992 

484.471 

125 016 

187,748 

1,184,109 

1,680,637 

1,321,011 

726,915 

7&0.891 

827,922 

1.721 295 

1 071,361 

2 665,260 

90,923 
705,603 

1 25S.510 
818 579 

1,225,163 
442,014 


201,855,841 

156,394,691 

97,1^0,833 

44,1C3,655 

268,169,207 

1,263,180,543 
601 318,552 
32*3 125,636 
643,748,976 
209,197,315 

1,234,922,897 
260,757,214 

2,2 '0,430.300 
51.5 8,932 
208.146,989 
498,237,721 
159,052,542 
409,588,133 
190,651,491 


349,771 
111,799 

19,356 

66,238 
418,553 

76,634 
2^9,567 
257,184 
114,100 
291,718 
146,771 
339,789 

92,720 
2,609 
235,892 
290,549 
189,423 
390,913 

48,802 


52,287 31 


137.970 
115,736 
480,937 

185,821 

333,520 

5,710,838 

6,880,614 

850.641 


3 

4 


19 923 03 

304,592 91 

86,452 74 

1.015 50 

47,364 50 

1,586.681 98 

2,962,106 7© 

4,375 19 

1,523,15 ! 68 

38,436 68 

417,556 41 

144,745 19 

70,035 99 

20,773 44 

153 884 22 

53,388 95 

2,199 65 


5 

6 

7 

8 


Georgia 

Indiana 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maryland 

Mississippi 

Missouri , 

North Carolina. 
Ohio 


9 
10 
11 
12 
IS 


131,694 
51,823 

322,003 
129,009 
583,577 

33,421 
162.155 
144,875 
178.444 
124,334 

94,929 


2,320,795 

86,?- 24 

5 071,233 

1,818,460 

14,770.606 

60,683 

119,242 

844,485 

265,932 

6,501,730 

326,472 


14 




45 
16 
17 


South Carolina. 
Tennessee 


38 
19 


Virginia 

We^t Virginia . . 




2.839,135 


18,314,435 


9,114,681,561 


3,722,388 


7,489,094 07 


46,880,439 


Major, in favor Rep 

St.ntPS ' 


13 


995,549 


1,526,635 


12,713,415,321 




115,168,659 04 


10,757,754 


Ma 


jor.in i'avorDem. 
States 


3,000 273 



RECAPITULATION. 





Rep. States. 


Dem. States. 


Rep, Majority. 


Dem. Majority. 




191 

3.834,684 

19,841,070 

$21,828,096,882 

722,115 

$122,657,753 11 

£57,638,193 00 


178 

2,839,135 

18,314 4s5 

$9,114,681,561 

3,722,388 
$7,489 091 07 
$46,880,4,9 00 


13 

995,549 

1,526,635 

$12,713,415,321 




Vote in 1878 for House of Representa- 




Population in 1870 

Wealth according to ninth census 






3,000,273 




$115,163,659 04 
$10,757,754 











PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



Not a Showing of a "Solid North" as 
Against a " Solid South," hut a Show- 
ing- upon the basis of the Actual Rep- 
resentation in the House— The De- 
mocracy in a II opelsss Minority. 

The above is not a showing of a 
"Solid North" as against a "Solid 
South," but a showing upon the basis 
of the actual representation in the Na- 
tional House of Representatives of the 
Forty-Sixth Congress, including in the 
Democratic States Indiana and Oregon, 
as also Ohio, which through the infa- 
mous gerrymandering of the State by 
the Democracy had a Democratic ma- 
jority in its representation in the House, 
while the Eepublicans had in 1878 a plu- 
rality of 10,998 in the vote by which they 
were elected. But even with the sup- 
pression, either by violence or fraud, or 
both, of the entire Kepublican vote in 
all the States South, and granting the 
Democracy in the Confederate States 
the fraudulent fi gures which they claim, 
with the strength and wealth of Indiana, 
Ohio, and Oregon, all of them upon a 
fair and constitutional vote decidedly 
Republican States, the majority in the 
two Confederate Houses of Congress, 
the Confederate Democracy in the Sen- 
ate and House, are in the country in a 
hopeless minority. 



Recapitulation of the Facts— The Rela- 
tive Electoral and Popular Vote— Pop- 
ulation and Wealth of the Democratic 
and Republican States in the House— 
The Republican States embraced 
Three-fourth of the Total Wealth of 
the X at ion. 

In illustration let us recapitulate the 
facts in the above table. 

In the electoral colleges the Republi- 
can States, as represented in the pres- 
ent House, have 191 votes against 178 of 
the Democratic States— a Republican 
majority of 13. 

On the popular vote, exclusive of Cal- 
ifornia, as reported as cast in 1878, for 
Congress, with all its violence and tre- 
mendous Democratic frauds, its sup- 
pression of the entire Republican vote 
in all the Confederate States, the 19 Re- 
publican States embraced a total of 
3,834,684 votes against 2,839,135 of the 
Democratic States — a Republican ma- 
jority of 995,549, and, including the vote 
of California, a Republican majority of 
over a million votes. 

In population, according to thecensus 
of 1870, the 19 Republican States em- 
braced 19,841,070, persons against 18,314,- 
435 of the Democratic States — a Repub- 



lican majority of 1,526.635— a Republi- 
can majority of over a million and a 
half. 

Of the wealth of the nation, of a total 
valuation of $30,942,778,443, the Demo- 
cratic States possessed only $9,114,681,- 
561; the Republican States possessed 
$21,828,096,882— $12, 713,415,321 more than 
the Democratic States ; indeed, nearly 
three-fourths of the total wealth of the 
nation. 



Taxation of the Respective States— Cus- 
tom Duties Collected in 1868— Fifteen- 
Sixteenths Collected in the Republi- 
can States— Collections of Internal 
Revenue. 

Of the taxation for the support of the 
Government to meet the vast liabilities 
saddled upon the nation as the effect of 
the Democratic rebellion for the de- 
struction of the Constitution and the 
Union, of a total of $130,146,847.18 paid 
in 1878 as customs duties, 122,657,753.11 
was collected in and paid by the Re- 
publican States— only $7,489,094.7 was 
collected in or paid by the Democratic 
States ; that is, $115,168,659.05more were 
collected and paid in the Republican 
than in the Democratic States, or in the 
Republican States were paid over fif- 
teen-sixteenths of the whole customs rev- 
enue of the nation. Of a total of $104,- 
518,632 from internal revenue in 1878, 
$57,638,192 was collected and paid in the 
19 Republican States, and $46,880,439 in 
the Democratic States ; that is, $10,757,- 
754 more were collected and paid in the 
Republican than in the Democratic 
States. 



Internal Revenue Collected in all the 
States from 1866 to 1878— The immense 
Cost of the Rebellion— $2,055,397,846 
Collected as Internal Revenue — of 
Which the Eleven Confederate States, 
the Authors of our Public I>ebt, Paid 
Only $210,906,096— Ohio Alone Paid 
$13,104,524 more than All the Con- 
federate States Combined— Illinois 
$9,981,216 more than All the Confeder- 
ate States, and New York nearly twice 
as much as All the Confederate States. 

In 1878 only whisky and tobacco, 
banks and bankers, and patent medi- 
cine adhesive stamps were taxed. But 
the following table shows who, in the 
previous 13 years, since the close of the 
rebellion, paid the vast sums collected 
as internal revenue : 



84 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



B. 



Years. 



1866 

1867 

1863 

1869 

1870 

1871 

1872 

187:< 

1874 

1875 

1876 • 

1877 

1878 

Total iu 13 years... 



Collected in 
all the 
States. 



$309,226,813 42 
266,0°7,537 43 
191,087,589 41 
158,356,460 86 
184,899,756 49 
143,098,153 6.J 
130.612,177 72 
113,729,314 14 
102,409,784 90 
110.007/193 58 
116,700,732 03 
118,630,407 83 
110,581,624 74 



2.055,397,846 18 



Collected in 

the eleven 
Confederated 

States. 



$20,645,919 16 
34,604,660 48 
31,332,186 85 

9,864,765 97 
14,605,147 26 
11.633,429 85 

9,927,231 96 
12.271,587 43 
10,517,422 55 
11,919,151 92 
11.120,556 11 
12,321,994 16 
11,142,042 45 



201,906,096 15 



Collected 
in Ohio. 



$25,257 
20,134, 
12,364; 

16,135, 

19,437, 

15,295, 

14,928, 

14,870, 

15,044, 

14,707, 

16,591, 

15,4" 

14,762, 



710 12 
,516 35 
867 99 
972 31 
Mb 04 
t 450 73 

135 07 
277 83 
834 77 
712 50 

136 59 
511 30 
979 94 



Collected 
in Illinois. 



Collected 
in New York. 



$15,249, 
11,956, 
7,624 

13,055, 
18,186, 
15,270, 
15,798, 
16,452, 
15 357, 
17,678, 
23.708, 
21.896, 
19,651, 



678 00 
633 08 
747 89 
230 23 
366 35 
842 03 
722 40 
020 60 
933 15 
267 57 
545 60 
588 24 
732 21 



215,010,620 54 211,887,312 35 



568,810,834 76 
57,973,220 95 
39,644,583 49 
3^,497,403 68 
36,514,889 37 
28,663,183 96 
23,446,577 34 
19,312,323 60 
15,285.280 87 
15,224,856 74 
14.609,335 07 
14,458.326 50 
14,963,899 92 



384,406,776 25 



Thus in 13 years, from 1866 to 1878, in 
support of the national honor, as a 
means of honestly and promptly liqui- 
dating the immense obligations inflicted 
upon the nation by the Democracy in 
rebellion, the Government was com- 
pelled to collect of the people, as in- 
ternal revenue, the mighty sum of 
$2,055,397,846.18! Of that sum the 11 
Confederate States, the guilty authors 
of our immense public debt, paid only 
$201,906,096.15! The single loyal State 
of Ohio alone paid $215,010,620.54, or 
$13,105,524.39 more than all the Confed- 
erate States combined. Illinois alone 
paid $211,887,312.35, or $9,981,216.20 more 
than all the Confederate States. New 
York alone paid $384,406,776,25, or $182,- 
500,680.10 more than all the Confederate 
States- -nearly twice as much as all of 
them combined. 

Democratic States embraced nearly 
Five-sixths of all the Ignorance of the 
Nation— The Southern Democracy, an 
Oligarchal Minority, Looking to the 
Spoils of the National Treasury, the 
Sack of the Nation, as a means of Res- 
cuing its Leaders from Bankruptcy, 
Impudently Usurp the Power of Tax- 
ing the Nation. 

And with this comparative poverty, 
this immense inferiority in the popular 
vote as in population and wealth, this 
immense inferiority as taxpayers, the 
Democratic States monopolized almost 
wholly all the ignorance, with its con- 
sequent evils, of the nation. According 
to the census of 1870, as shown above, in 
table " A," the 19 Republican States con- 
tained only 722,115 persons of all ages 
who cannot read ; but the Democratic 
States, the land of the ku-klux, shot- 
gun, and bowie-knife, the bloody ground 
of political murders, outrage and fraud, 
contained 3,722,388, or 3,000,273 more 
than the Republican States, nearly live- 
sixths of all the ignorance of the nation. 



Nevertheless, this minority, the Con- 
federate and Copperhead Democracy, 
ignorant, violent and bloody, and look- 
ing to the spoils of the national Treas- 
ury, the sack of the nation, through a 
conquest of the National Government, 
as a means of rescuing its oligarchal 
leaders, the old pro -slavery land- owners 
of Secessia, from personal bankruptcy 
and sinking into obscurity as a parve- 
nu class, this seditious and disloyal 
minority, through violence and fraud in 
a thousand forms, seized upon a major- 
ity of the two Houses of Congress. They 
again impudently usurped the power of 
taxing the majority ! 

Usurpation in 1878, through Shot-gun 
Outrages, Bloody Raids, and Ballot, 
box Stuffing, have given the Demo- 
cracy both Senate and House— Analy. 
sis of the Figures and Facts. 

And by what agencies did these old 
conspirators against the honor, the lib- 
erties and peace of the nation, succeed 
in thus practically subjugating the na- 
tion — its numbers, wealth, and intelli- 
gence 1 ? Let us analyze the composition 
of the two Houses of Congress, and re- 
view the agencies by which they were 
elected. 

In the House, of its present 293 mem- 
bers, the Democracy counted 155; 55 from 
the North. The Republicans counted 
137, only 6 from the South. Thus the 
South, the old Confederate enemies of 
the Republic, were solid against the na- 
tion, were solid in a new conspiracy to 
subvert the constitutional rule of the 
majority, to force the loyal masses, as of 
old, to pay them tribute, to remunerate 
the Confederacy and its leaders for their 
losses in the rebellion which they fo- 
mented for the destruction of the nation 
and its liberties. They have suppressed 
violently and fraudulently the Republi- 
can vote in all the States South. Al- 
though in 1876 the Republicans polled, 
even by the Confederate count, 1,096,- 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



85' 



626 votes; although on the color line 
alone, 27 Congressional districts South 
were Republican, and should in the For- 
ty-sixth Congress have been repre- 
sented by Republicans, yet 6 Republi- 
cans only were returned from that section 
to the House. Undoubtedly other dis- 
tricts of the Confederacy, upon a con- 
stitutional, free, or fair vote, would 
have returned Republicans; but merely 
strike from the Democratic vote in the 
House that of the 21 districts notoriously 
seized through violence and fraud by the 
Democracy (155— 21— 134) and add them 
to the Republican vote, (137—21—158,) 
and the House would, as it should, have 
been Republican by 24 majority. Usur- 

Eation through shot-gun outrages, 
loody raids and ballot-box stuffiug, 
gave it a Democratic majority of 21. A 
Eke result follows in the Senate. Strike 
from the Democratic vote in that body 
usurped through violence and fraud, 
those of Alabama, 2; Arkansas, 2; Geor- 

gia, 2; Louisiana, 1; Mississippi, 1; North 
arolina, 2, and South Carolina, 2—12, 
and add them to the Republican vote, 
(33 + 12=45,) and the Senate would, as it 
should, have been Republican by a ma- 
jority of 15. Only usurpation through 
bloody violence, terrorism, and fraud made 
it Democratic by a majority of 9. 

Grant's Vote in 1868 and Hayes's Vote in 
1876 in the South Violently Sup- 
pressed in 1878 in Blood, and Terror- 
ism and Fraud— An Analysis of the 
Figures and Facts. 

Nor is this review open to doubt. 
The facts are too clear, too positive, to 
admit of a successful challenge. In 1868 
General Grant received in the South 57 
electoral votes, those of Alabama, 8; 
Arkansas, 5; Florida, 3 ; Missouri, 11; 
North Carolina, 9 ; South Carolina, 6 ; 
Tennessee, 10; West Virginia, 5. In 
1872, General Grant received in the 
South 57 electoral votes, those of Ala- 
bama, 10; Florida, 4; iMississippi, 8 ; N. 
Carolina, 10; S. Carolina, 7; Virginia, 
11 ; and West Virginia, 5. But in 1876, 
General Hayes received in the South 
only 19 electoral votes, those of Florida, 
4; Louisiana, 8; and South Carolina, 7. 
What, in 1876, had become of the Re- 
publican majorities in Alabama, Arkan- 
sas, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennes- 
see, Virginia, and West Virginia, by 
which General Grant in 1868 received 57 
electoral votes, and in 1872 47 votes ? Vi- 
olently suppressed in blood, and terror- 
ism, and fraud! 

Grant's Vote in 1868, and Hayes's Vote 
of 1876, in Arkansas, Suppressed in 
1878 in Blood, and Terrorism, and 
Fraud— An Analysis of the Figures and 
Facts. 

In Arkansas, in 1868, General Grant 
received 22,112 votes aud the electoral 



| college of the State. 



On the Congres- 
sional vote of 1868, the Republicans 
polled 22,030 votes, and elected 2 of the 
3 members of Congress, and the Legis- 
lature, on joint ballot, a majority of 98. 
In 1872, General Grant received 41,373 
votes and the electoral college of the 
State ; the Republicans elected 2 mem- 
bers of Congress, and 40 majority of the 
Legislature on joint ballot. Even in 
1876 General Hayes was allowed 38,669 
by the Confederate count. But the Dem- 
ocratic vote was fraudulently placed at 
58,071. A solid Democratic delegation 
to Congress was declared, and the Leg- 
islature, on joint ballot, from 98 Republi- 
can majority was transformed into 86 
Democratic majority. In the first Con- 
gressional district of the State, in 1868, 
the vote was, for the Republican candi- 
date, 7,151 ; for the Democrat, 6,987= 
14,138. In 1876, in that district, no op- 
position was allowed, and the Demo- 
cratic candidate for Congress quietly 
counted 15,841 votes, the total vote of the 
district; but in 1878 a count of only 8,- 
863 was all that was needed to send a 
Democrat to Congress, while the Repub- 
lican vote disappeared from the State. 
What, in 1878, had become of Grant's 
majority of 1868 and 1872? What, in- 
deed, of Hayes's vote in 1876 of 38,669, 
an absolute majority of the actual vote 
of the State ? Suppressed in blood, and 
terrorism, and fraud! 

Grant's vote in 1868 and Hayes's vote in 
1876, in Georgia, Suppressed in 1878 
by the Ku-Klux in Blood and Terror- 
ism and Fraud— An Analysis of the Fig- 
ures and Faets. 

In Georgia, in 1866, the registered vote 
of the State was : white, 95,303; colored, 
93,458; and in 1876, the Republicans 
polled, even upon the Confederate count, 
for General Hayes, 50,446 votes. At the 
Congressional election of 1878, the Re- 
publican vote almost wholly disap- 
peared ; only 5,257 votes were cast, or 
rather, counted— 3,643 for Wade in the 
second and 1,614 for Archer in the ninth 
district; 69,808 votes elected the nine 
members of the present House, a solid 
anti-Republican delegation to Congress. 
In 1876, in the third Congressional dis- 
trict of the State, the Republicans 
polled 4,280 votes for Pierce, for Con- 
gress ; but in 1878, only two years later, 
Cook, Democrat, was elected to the 
House by a total vote of only 2,628. 
What had become of the 4,280 Republi- 
can votes polled in 1876 for Pierce ? In 
1878, in the eighth district, Alexander H. 
Stephens was elected to the House by a 
total vote of only 3,355 against 58 scat- 
tering. In 1876, in the sixth district, the 
Republicans polled 4,578 votes for Gove 
for Congress; but in 1878, Blount, Demo- 
crat, was elected to the House by a total 
vote of only 3,192. What had become 



PAST USURPATIONS OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



of the 4,578 Republican votes polled for 
Gove in 1876, only two years before ? 
What, indeed, had become of the 50,446 
polled only two years before, in 1876, 
for Hayes i Suppressed by the Ku-Klux in 
blood and terrorism and fraud ! 

Grant's vote in 1868 and Hayes' vote in 
1876, in Louisiana, Suppressed in 1878 
by tbe Knights of the White Camelia 
in Blood and Terrorism and Fraud— 
An Analysis of the Figures and the 
Facts. 

In Louisiana, in 1867,' the registered 
vote was: colored, 84,431; white, 45,199— 
a Republican majority on the color 
line alone of 39,232. In 1872, Grant re- 
ceived 71,663 votes, and the Republicans 
elected a solid delegation to Congress. 
In 1876 the registration showed a Re- 
publican majority of 22,314. Even by 
the Confederate count in 1876 General 
Hayes received 77,174 votes, but only 
two years later, in 1878, that heavy Re- 
publican vote disappeared, and a unani- 
mous Confederate delegation was re- 
turned to Congress. What had become 
of the registered Republican majority 
in the State from 1867 to 1876 ? What, 
indeed, of Hayes' heavy vote of 1876 ? 
Suppressed by the "Knights of the White 
Camelia" in blood and terrorism and 
fraud ! 

Grant's vote in 1868 and Hayes' vote in 
1876, in North Carolina, Suppressed 
in 1878 in Terrorism, Blood, and 
Fraud— An Analysis of the Figures and 
Facts. 

In North Carolina, in 1868, General 
Grant received 96,769 votes, (12,168 ma- 
jority,) and the electoral college of the 
State. The Republicans elected 5 of the 
7 members of Congress, and of the Legis- 
lature, on joint ballot, a majority of 70. 
In 1872, Grant received 94,769 votes (24, 
720 majority,) and the electoral college 
of the State. In 1876, General Hayes, 
even by the Confederate count, received 
108,417 votes, but only two years later, 
in 1878, that large vote, a majority of the 
actual vote cast in 1876, almost wholly 
disappeared. In the first Congressional 
district 12,565 Republican votes were 
counted, and a Republican returned to 
Congress. In 1876, in the sixth Con- 
gressional district, the Republicans 
polled 10,283 votes for Jordan for Con- 
gress, but in 1878 a count of only 4,908 
votes returned a Democrat (Steele) to 
Congress. Only 258 were counted 
against him. What had become of the 
10,283 Republican votes polled in the 
same district only two years before? In 
the eighth Congressional district, in 1876, 
the Republicans polled for Hampton for 
Congress 7,493 votes, but in 1878 a 
count of only 2,894 votes returned 
Vance, Democrat, to the present House. 



What had become of the 7,493 Republi- 
can votes polled in tbe same district 
only two years before 1 What had be- 
come of Grant's heavy majorities of 1868 
and 1872? What, indeed, of Hayes' 
large vote in 1876 ? Suppressed in ter- 
rorism, blood, and fraud! 

Grant's vote in 1868 and Hayes' vote in 
1876, in Alabama, Suppressed in 1878 
in Blood and Terrorism and Fraud— 
An Analysis of the Figures and Facts. 

In Alabama, in 1867, the registered 
vote was : colored, 90,340 ; whites, 74,450, 
a Republican majority on the color line 
alone of 15,890. In 1868, General Grant 
received 76,366 votes and the electoral 
college of the State. In 1872 Grant re- 
ceived 90,272 votes and the electoral col- 
lege of the State. The Republicans 
elected 5 of 7 Congressmen and a heavy 
majority in the Legislature. Even in 
1876, under the manipulation and frauds 
of the Confederates, 68,230 votes were 
counted for General Hayes ; but only 
two years later, in 1878, at the election 
for governor, not a single Republican 
vote was counted. In the fourth Con- 
gressional district, 6,545 Republican 
votes were counted for Haralson for 
Congress against 8,514 for Shelley, a 
Democrat. In 1870, the population of 
that district, embracing the counties of 
Dallas, Hale, Lowndes, and Perry was, 
colored, 109,218 ; whites, 32, 349, a colored 
majority in population of 76,869. In 
1876 the Republicans were allowed a 
count of 15,750 votes ; but in 1878 a count 
of only 8,514 returned a Democrat to 
Congress in a district Republican by a 
majority at least of 10,000. On the State 
ticket no opposition was tolerated, and 
the Republican vote, a majority of the 
State, wholly disappeared. What had 
become of Grant's majorities of 1868 and 
1872 ? What, indeed, of Hayes' vote in 
1876 of 68,230 ? Suppressed by the shot- 
gun in blood and terrorism and fraud! 

Grant's vote in 1868 and Hayes' vote 
in 1876, in South Carolina suppressed 
in 1878 by the Rifle Clubs in Blood 
and Terrorism and Fraud— An Anal- 
ysis of the Figures and Facts. 

In South Carolina,in 1876, the registered 
vote was: colored, 80,286; whites, 47, 
Oio — a Republican majority on the color 
line alone of 47,010. In 1870, the popu- 
lation of the State was: colored, 415,814 ; 
whites, 289,073— a colored majority of 
126,741. In 1868, at the Presidential elec- 
tion, General Grant received in South 
Carolina 62,301 votes and the electoral 
college of the State. In 1872, Grant re- 
ceived 72,290 votes (49,587 majority) 
and the electoral college of the State. 
A solid Republican delegation was 
elected to Congress, and of the Legisla- 
ture on joint ballot a majority of 95. In 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



87 



1876, General Hayes received 10,798 
votes; Tilden, supported by the rifle 
clubs, only 90,906. But in 1878, how 
many Republican votes were cast, or 
rather counted ? On the governor's 
vote not one. Only 213 were counted 
as scattering. Not a single Republican 
member was returned to Congress. The 
Democratic vote was increased to 119,550, 
by which was elected the 5 members of 
the House, a solid delegation to Con- 

fress, and of the Legislature on joint 
allot a majority of 142. What in 1878 
had become of Grant's heavy majorities 
of 1868 and 1872? What, indeed, of 
Hayes' vote of 91,786 polled in 1876— 
only two years before ? Suppressed by 
the rifle clubs in blood and terrorism and 
fraud ! 

Grant's Vote in 1868 and Hayes' vote 
in 1876, in Mississippi, Suppressed in 
1878 in Blood and Terrorism and 
Fraud— An Analysis of the Figures 
and Facts. 

In Mississippi, in 1867, the registered 
vote was: colored, 60,167; whites, 46,- 
636. The population iu 1870 was: col- 
ored, 444,201 ; whites, 382,896— a Repub- 
lican majority on the color line alone of 
61,305. In 1869, Alcorn's ( Republican ) ma- 
jority was for governor 38,089. In 1872, 
General Grant's majority was 34,877. In 
1873, Ames' (Republican) majority for 
governor was 20,467; and in 1874 the Re- 

Eublican majority on joint ballot in the 
egislature was 20,467 ; and in 1874, that 
majority on joint ballot in the Legisla- 
te e was 30. In 1876, even by the Con- 
federate count, General Hayes received 
52,605 votes. But in 1878, the Republi- 
can vote, an immense majority of 
the State, almost wholly disappeared. 
Only 2,085 Republican votes were 
returned as cast, a solid Confed- 
erate delegation was returned to Con- 
gress, and an almost unanimous Demo- 
cratic Legislature was counted in. 
What, in 1878, had become of the Re- 
publican majority of the State ? What, 
mdeed, of Hayes's vote in 1876 ? Sup- 
pressed by the shot-gun in blood and ter- 
rorism and fraud! 

Organization of the Senate and House 
of the Forty-Sixth Congress— In the 
Senate the Confederate Brig-adiers 
Monopolize the Committees— An Anal- 
ysis of the Senate Committees. 

And in the organization of the two 
Houses of Congress, the power thus 
usurped through violence and blood 
was recognized and enlarged. In the Sen- 
ate the Democracy counted 42 votes— 30 
from the South and only 12 from the 
North. In the House they counted 155 
votes — 100 from the South and only 55 
from North. 

In the Senate, of its 28 standing com- 
mittees, the Confederates had the 
chairmanship of 17 of the most impor- 



tant—those on Privileges and Elections, 
on Finance, Appropriations, Commerce, 
Agriculture, Post Offices and Post 
Roads, Indian Affairs, Pensions, Claims, 
District of Columbia, Territories, Edu- 
cation and Labor, Railroads, Civil Ser- 
vice and Retrenchment, etc. And they 
had not only the chairmanships of these 
important committees, but all the com- 
mittees of the Senate were so constituted 
as to give the control of them to the 
Confederates. In every case the major- 
ity of the committee was Democratic; but 
a majority of that majority was also Con- 
federate, which gave the latter a con- 
trol of the committee by controlling 
the majority. Thus : 

The Committee on Privileges and 
Elections, always a most important 
committee, as it practically decides all 
cases of contested seats in the Senate — 
all questionable rights to seats — was com- 
posed ot 9 members — 6 Democrats and 3 
Republicans; but 5 of the 6 Democrats 
were Confederates; 1 was from the North 
or loyal States. 

The Committee on Finance was com- 
posed of 9 members — 5 Democrats and 4 
Republicans ; but 3 of the 5 Democrats 
were Confederates. 

The Committee on Appropriations was 
composed of 9 members — 5 Democrats 
and 4 Republicans ; but 3 of the 5 Dem- 
ocrats were Confederates. 

The Committee on Commerce was com- 
posed of 9 members— 5 Democrats and 
4 Republicans ; but 4 of the 5 Democrats 
were Confederates. 

The Committee on Post Offices and 
Post Roads wascomposed of 9 members— 
6 Democrats and 3 Republicans ; but 5 
of the 6 Democrats were Confederates. 

The Committee on Claims, just then, 
in view of the immense amount of pend- 
ing rebel claims — hundreds of millions — 
a committee of the graudest importance 
to the South as it is to the nation, was 
composed of 9 members— 5 Democrats — 
all Confederates — and 4 Republicans. 

The Committee on the Election of 
President and Vice-President, truly a 
most important committee to our whole 

Eeople, was composed of 9 members— 6 
democrats and 3 Republicans ; but 4 of 
the 6 Democrats were Confederates. 

And so on through all the Senate 
Committees. A majority of the majority 
of the committee was Confederates, and 
consequently control it under the caucus 
rule on all important questions. 
The Petty State of Delaware given the 
Chairmanship of the two Important 
Committees of Privileges and Elec- 
tions, and Finance— The great State of 
New York the Committee on Patents — 
The great Maritime and Industrial 
States, the great Taxpayers of the Na- 
tion, excluded from all voice in shap- 
ing the Legislation of the Nation. 
The petty State of Deleware was given 



PAST USTJCRPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



the chairmanship of the two important 
committees on Privileges and Elections 
and Finance; the great State of New 
York the Committee on Patents. West 
Virginia was given the Committee on Ap- 
propriations ; the great State of Penn- 
sylvania that on the Revision of the Laws. 
Geoi gia wasgiven the Committee on Com- 
merce, Texas the Committee on Post 
Offices and Post Roads ; Virginia the 
Committee on Pensions, North Carolina 
the Committee on Railroads, Tennessee 
the Committee on Education and Labor, 
South Carolina that on Civil Service and 
Reform ; while the great maritime and 
industrial States of the North, East and 
West, the great taxpayers of the nation, 
the proprietors of its wealth, thrift and 
intelligence, were practically excluded 
from any voice in shaping legislation 
for the control of the interests in which 
their citizens are so largely concerned. 

In tlie House twenty-two Confederate 
Brigadiers given the most important 
chairmanships- Analysis of the House 
Committees. 

In the House the same rule governed 
in the distribution and composition of 
its committees. Of its stauding com- 
mittees, 42 in number, 22, and the most 
important ones, had Confederate chair- 
men—those on Appropriations, on Bank- 
ing and Currency, Commerce, the Ju- 
diciary, Pacific Railroads, Railway and 
Canals, Coinage, Weights and Measures, 
Post Offices and Post Roads, Claims, 
Education and Labor, Accounts, etc. 
As in the Senate, so in the House— all 
the committees were so constituted as to 
give the control of them to the Confed- 
prates Thus i 

The committee on Elections, which 
practically decides all cases of contested 
seats, was composed of 15 members — 
9 Democrats and 6 Republicans; but 6 
of the Democrats, a majority of the 
majority, was Confederates — only 3 
were from the North or loyal States. 

The Committee on Ways and Means, 
the committee which controls or fixes 
the taxes of the nation, was composed of 
13 members— 8 Democrats and live Re- 
publicans j but five of the Democrats 
were Confederates. 

The Committee on Appropriations was 
composed of 15 members— 9 Democrats 
and 6 Republicans ; but 6 of the 9 Dem- 
ocrats were Confederates. 

The Committee on Banking and Cur- 
rency was composed of 11 members— 7 
Democrats and 4 Republicans ; but 4 of 
the Democrats were Confederates. 

The Committee on Pacific Railroads 
was composed of 13 members-— 8 Demo- 
crats and 5 Republicans ; but 6 of the 8 
Democrats were Confederates. 

The Committee on War Claims, the 
committee which must decide on all 
rebel claims, was composed of 11 mem- 



bers— 6 Democrats and 5 Republicans ; 
but 4 of the 6 Democrats were Confede- 
rates. 

The Committee on Commerce was com- 
posed of 15 members — 10 Democrats 
and 5 Republicans ; but 7 of the 10 
Democrats were Confederates. 

The Committee on Post Offices and 
Post Roads was composed of 11 members 
—7 Democrats and 4 Republicans; but 
5 of the 7 Democrats were Confederates. 

And so the Committee on Public Ex- 
penditures, and the respective com- 
mittees on the Expenditures of the Ex- 
ecutive Departments, the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs, on the Judiciary, on 
Accounts, Printing, Invalid Pensions, 
etc. — all were so constituted as to give 
the control of them to the Confederates. 



In the Senate and Honse the Commit- 
tee on Education and Labor given to 
the ex-Confederate Brigadiers— to the 
Men whose Maxim prior to 1861 -was 
"Slavery is the Natural and Nor- 
mal condition of the Laborer",—" Lib- 
erty for the few; Slavery in every 
form for the Masses." 

In both Houses the Committee on 
Education and Labor was given to the 
Confederates. In the Senate 3 of the 4 
Democrats, constrtuting the majority 
of the committee, were Confederates ; 
and in the House the majority of the 
committee were all Confederates — (5 
Confederates, and 4 Republicans) — were 
all men the cardinal maxims of whose 
caste in the oligarchy, prior to 1861, and 
who act upon those maxims to-day in 
their States in their treatment of the 
laborer, were, that ''certain menial em- 
ployments," all manual labor, "are in- 
compatible with mental cultivation," 
with education, and accordingly pun- 
ished then, as now, as crimes, all at- 
tempts to introduce within their limits 
popular education ; that " raiment, 
food and shelter," the physical wants of 
the atrimai, were the highest needs of 
the laborer ; that the negro, brutalized 
by slavery, was in bondage superior 
"mentally, morally, and socially" to 
the white workingmen in freedom. 
Hence, that "slavery was the natural 
and normal condition of the laborer ; " 
that "slavery was right and necessary, 
whether white or black," and lustily 
shouted as their favorite slogan ; " Lib- 
erty for the few — slavery in every form for 
the masses ! " Such were, up to the latest 
hour of their old dominion, and are 
now, the principles and the aims— the 
revival and extension of slavery, and the 
perpetuity of ignorance among the 
masses — of the oligarchal caste to which 
in both Houses of Congress had been 
given, and designedly, the Committees 
on Education and Labor. 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



In botlh Houses the Committees on the 
Ascertainment and Declaration of the 
Election for President {and Vice Pres- 
ident given to the ex-Confederates 
as a means of Seizing- upon the Presi- 
dency, Ac. 

And as a part of this great usurpation 
the committees on the Ascertainment 
and Declaration of the Election of 
President and Vice President were in 
both Houses in the hands of the Con- 
federates. Id the Senate the committee 
was composed of 4 Confederates, 1 North- 
ern Democrat, and 3 Republicans. In 
the House the committee was composed 
of 7 Democrats and 4 Republicans ; but 
4 of the 7 Democrats were Confederates ; 
and so constructed deliberately with 
implied instructions to devise and re- 
port some plan or scheme, however un- 
lawful or revolutionary, by which to 
enable the oligarchal minority to count 
out the loyal or national candidates for 
President and Vice President, if elected 
by the people, no matter how large their 
majority on the popular vote, or how 
decided in the electoral colleges, to 
fraudulently seize upon the Presidency ; 
to restore by force and fraud the Con- 
federates in all branches of the National 
Government. 

The Bourbon Minority transferred to 
to the Halls of Congress the turbulent 
Spirit which rules in their States— 
They attempted to Coerce the Pres- 
ident by Revolutionary Expedients — 
The Rule of the Caucus in which the 
ex-Confederates Dominated. 

Sedition, treasonable plottings, tur- 
bulence, and scenes of blood and 
deviltry like the Chisholm massacre 
and the Dixon assasinations, and 
the countless assassinations dur 
ing the last twelve years all over 
the late Confederacy, are indigenous 
to their daily life. Like the brutal 
oligarchs or pro- slavery nobles of the 
Middle or Dark Ages, whose institutions 
or laws our old slave owners largely 
adopted, imbibina: with them the san- 

fuinary and cruet instincts of the ages 
rom which they were adopted, and 
whose tyranny and lives they still im- 
itate; like those noble oligarchs, as 
ignorant as sanguinary, ever in revolt 
against their king, or engaged in furi- 
ous raids against their neighbors, mur- 
dering, burning, and plundering ; like 
them, to our old pro-slavery oligarchs, 
our recent slave owners and their de- 
scendants, the exercise of power through 
violent scenes of deviltry forms the 
highest gratification of their natures. 
Peace, obedience to law, is absolutely 
their hell. Hence into Congress, upon 
■obtaining possession of its two houses, 



i they naturally transferred the turbu- 
\ lent spirit which rules in their States, 
! and attempted to coerce the President 
j by revolutionary expedients — by riders 
| on appropriation bills — into an appro- 
val of or acquiescence in their violent 
I plans under a threat of starving the 
| Government. In all their proceedings 
| during the Congress, the Democracy — 
i a majority of the two houses— substi- 
! tnted the caucus for the law— the caucus 
• for the Constitution. The Confederates 
| or Southern wiug of the Democracy, by 
their numerical preponderance, ruled 
in the caucus and dictated and shaped 
all its measures— all of them of a vio- 
! lent or revolutionary character, all of 
' them looking to a consummation of 
| their usurpation — the seizure of the 
Presidency by violence and fraud 
! through the destruction or repeal of the 
! election laws. 



The ex-Confederates, while plotting: the 
violent seizure of the Presidency, slan- 
dered the Republican Savers of the 
Nation — No troops ever used by Re- 
publicans at the Polls— No military 
interference anywhere by Repub- 
licans with elections— " Rloody Jlon- 
day" in Washington in 1858. 

As in the Confederacy and before the 
world they load with unmerited cal- 
umny the wretched victims of their 
murderous violence as. a justification of 
their crimes, so in Congress, as a justi- 
fication of their revolutionary exped- 
ients looking to the crowning infamy of 
their usurpations — the seizure of the 
Presidency in 1880— they slandered the 
Republican party ; they traduced the 
party which, while rescuing the nation 
from their traitorous efforts to destroy 
it by force of arms, magnanimously 
spared them the halter denounced by 
the laws against their crimes; they ac- 
cused and denounced it as having used, 
and as being in favor of continuing the 
use, of troops at the polls. No fouler 
slander was ever invented or uttered 
by traitor iu extenuation of his guilt. 
When and where were troops ever used 
by the Republicans at the polls? At 
what election? When and where by any 
party but the Democracy, as at Wash- 
ington, in June, 1858, on " Bloody Mon • 
day," when, under the orders of a Dem- 
ocratic President, James Buchanan, at 
a petty municipal election, the streets 
of the national capital were reddened 
with the blood of its unoffending citizens 
under the fire of the regular soldiery"? 
No troops were ever so used by the Re- 
publican party. Not a single instance 
has ever been cited--not a single in- 
stance can be cited. Not one of such 
use of troops by any party but the Dem- 
ocracy. 



90 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



Ku-Klux and White League Leaders, 
the Beneficiaries of Wholesale Bal- 
lot-box Stuffing and Violent Frauds, 
raised the cry of an "Untrammeled 
Ballot," "Free Elections," "No Troops 
at the Polls" as a Blind— The Govern- 
ment had no troops to use at Flec- 
tions—The Figures and Facts. 



But the men so recently confederated 
in arms for the destruction of the Con- 
stitution and the laws, and whose pres- 
ence in the national Senate and House 
House was due wholly to the suppression 
of the Republican vote in all the States 
South by bloody violence, by murder, 
massacre, and intimidation at the polls 
by the Ku-Klux, White League, and other 
armed brigand gangs— these men in 
Congress raised the cry of "An Untram- 
meled Ballot," "Free Elections," "No 
Troops at the Polls," as a blind to their 
own guilt, as well as a justili cation of 
their threat to starve the Government 
in revenge for its protection of the elec- 
tion laws of the United States against 
their revolutionary efforts to repeal them 
— their efforts to destroy the only guaran- 
tees of the citizen at the polls of a free and 
untrammeled vote. The dishonesty of 
the cry, its hypocrisy and transparent 
purpose, was exposed in the fact that the 
Government, even if disposed to resort 
to intimidation at the polJs, to violate 
every rule of its policy and practice, 
and of the great and law-abiding party 
which supports it, had no troops at its 
command for the purpose. At that 
date there were 

In Alabama 32 United States soldiers 
in arsenal. 

In Arkansas 57 soldiers. 

In Delaware not one. 

In Florida 182 United States soldiers 
at 3 separate barracks, navy yards, &c. 

In Georgia 29 United States soldiers. 

In Kentucky not one. 

In Louisiana 239 United States sol- 
diers. 

In Maryland 192 United States sol- 
diers at Fort McHenry. 

In Mississippi not one. 

In Missouri not one. 

In North Carolina 30 United States 
soldiers at Fort at mouth of Cape Fear 
river. 

In South Carolina 123 United States 
soldiers guarding Charleston harbor. 

In Tennessee not one. 

In Texas not one outside of frontier 
guard. 

In Virginia 282 United States soldiers 
at school of practice at Fortress Mon- 
roe. 

In West Virginia not one. 



In the South one Soldier to a County— 
One Soldier to every 700 Square Miles 
a Formidable force with which to In- 
timidate the Rifle Clubs and other 
Armed Gang's, «fcc— In New England 
123 Troops to every 1,000,000 Citizens; 
in the South only 70. 

In all the South only 1,166 soldiers with 
which to intimidate a population esti- 
mated at 15,000,000 persons. In the 
South there are 1,203 counties. Hence, 
there were iu the South less than one 
soldier to a county; only one soldier to 
every 700 square miles. Truly a formid- 
able force, and one certainly calculated 
to intimidate the rifle clubs and other 
armed gangs which infested all the late 
Confederated States. But in New Eng- 
land, from which were heard no com- 
plaints of the election laws, there 
were 123 United States soldiers to every 
1,000,000 of its citizens; in the South only 
70. Hence, it was not a fear of the 
troops which influenced the Democracy 
in their cry against the election laws, 
but a wish to remove the United States 
supervisors of election provided by those 
laws from the polls on election day, and 
thus open out to them in the large 
cities of the North a clear field for tlie 
frauds, wholesale illegal voting, and 
ballot-box stuffing by which they pro- 
posed to seize the Presidency. 

The Oligarchy in 1861 and 1878-388,637 
Slave-owners prior to 1861 constitut- 
ed its Dominant or Ruling Faction — 
They Monopolized all its Honors and 
Offices— The People the merest Ci- 
phers in all things Political or Social 
—They had no Toice or Influence in 
the Body Politic. 

In 1861, in all the South, of its 8,037,075 
white people, only 383,637 were slave- 
owners. But few as they were, they 
constituted the Southern oligarchy of 
the past, its dominant or ruling faction. 
They framed or dictated all its laws upon 
every subject, social, civil, and politi- 
cal ; monopolized all the civil offices of 
the State, filled its judiciary and all the 
commands of the militia; interdicted 
all popular education, burning school- 
houses, and whipping, expelling or mur- 
dering the teachers; educated its ignor- 
ant white masses in their own violent 
sentiments, a hatred of all freedom or 
progress, and of labor and the laborer,, 
a hatred of the negro or slave as a God- 
degraded caste, incapable of all im- 
provement. Thus they organized the 
oligarchy under which they maintained 
their crushing rule, and punished all 
hostility to their tyranny in outrage and 
torture and blood. Literally the people 
of the South prior to 1861, the white 
majorities of its respective States, were- 
the merest ciphers in all things politi- 
cal or social. They had no voice or in- 



PAST USURPATION OF THE DEMOCRACY. 



ui 



fluence in the body politic. They were 
held and ruled practically as subjects or 
serfs of the oligarchal slave -owners. 

Revival of the Oligarchy— Th e old Slave 
owners and their Descendants again 
Trample Ont all Freedom of Opinion 
and Action— Again Monopolize all the 
Honors and Offices of their States— 
Again Dominate through the Old Vio- 
lent Agencies. 

So to-day, in all the States South, cer- 
tainly in all the recently Confederated 
States, we have but a revival, a restor- 
ation, of the disgusting and degrading 
old oligarchal rule in all its turbu- 
lent wickedness. Again the oligarchal 
minority tramples into the dust the Con- 
stitution and the laws. Again it crushes 
out all freedom of opinion, all freedom 
of action, all hostility or opposition to 
its tyranny in outrage and torture and 
blood, in massacres like the Chisholm, in 
assassinations like the Dixon- 

The old slave owners, or their de- 
scendants, educated in the sedition, tyr- 
anny and bloody violence of the old oli- 
garchal system, intensified by the expe- 
riences and hatred generated by the re- 
bellion, and comprising but a petty fac- 
tion of even the white population of 
their respective States, again monopo- 
lize, as a right inherent in their oli- 
garcal caste, all the offices of the State. 
Again they fill the local judiciary, all 
the commands of the local militia, all 
the places of their Legislatures. Again 
they arrogantly frame all their laws, 
socially and politically, in the spirit of 
tyranny and in support of their caste, 
and again they violently suppress all at- 
tempts at popular education. 

These old Conspirators against Free 
dom and the Nation, for fifty years 
prior to 1861, dominated in the Gov- 
ernment and Nation— They taxed the 
majority— Exacted tribute of the com- 
merce and Industries of the Nation in 
support of their Peculiar Institution 
—Monopolized the Honors and Offices 
of the Xation, and prostituted the 
Lives and Treasure of the People in 
Support of Wars for the Aggran. 
dizement of the Oligarchy. 

For over fifty years prior to 1861 these 
old conspirators against freedom and 
progress insolently dominated in the 
Government and nation. They taxed 
the majority. They exacted tribute of 
the commerce and industries of the na- 
tion in support of their " peculiar insti- 
tution "—that " execrable sum of all vil- 
lainies" — domestic slavery. They appro- 
priated, as a matter of right inherentin 
their caste, the lion's share of the honors, 
offices, and their emoluments, of the 
State, at home and abroad. They prosti- 



tuted the lives and blood of our people, 
hundreds of millions of the national 
treasure, in foreign wars — in infamous 
schemes for the acquisition of foreign 
territory for the extension and perpe- 
tuity of human slavery, and resisted 
all plansof internalimprovementby the 
National Government, all plans for the 
advancement or in aid of the commerce 
and industries of our people. 

To Rescue their Caste and Slavery from 
overthrow, these Oligarchs in 186* 
raised their Mailed hands against the 
Iiife of the Xation— They proposed to 
erect a Barbarism pure and simple — 
Their Slogan was, "Slavery is the Na- 
tural and Normal Condition of the 
Iiaborer"— "Iiiberty for the Few, Slav- 
ery in every form for the Masses." 

After such a domination, through so 
long a period, ever preying like the vul- 
ture upon the great heart of our people, 
these Confederate oligarchs, in 1861, 
threw up the banner of revolt : they 
impiously raised their mailed hands 
against the life of the nation ! As a 
caste the scepter was about to be 
wrenched from their grasp. Civiliza- 
tion and freedom, and their attendants, 
popular education and popular rights, 
with irresistible power, were on all 
sides pressing their oligarchy, and new 
lights and aspirations were awakening 
even among their own white masses. 
The old brutal, obscene, and tyrannical 
institution, domestic slavery, was threat- 
ened with overthrow: their own su- 
premacy and power as the dominant 
caste were menaced. 

To rescue all from the impending; 
ruin thus threatened by the advance of 
civilization, to strengthen and perpetu- 
ate slavery, and with it their own su- 
premacy and power, they revolted 
against the nation. Nor did they leave 
the world in doubt as to their designs — 
the establishment upon the ruins of the 
National Union of a new Confederacy f 
a barbarism pure and simple, with do- 
mestic slavery as its corner-stone — a 
grinding tyranny of oligarchal slave- 
masters in which would be revived all 
the horrors of the Dark Ages. For 
years prior to their revolt, in their 

fuess, in Congress, and in their Legis- 
atures, even in their pulpits, they in- 
famously advocated the enslavement of 
the white masses of the North, as well 
as those of the South. They declared 
" free society a failure." One enlight- 
ened oligarch, the erudite, and astute 
Keith, of South Carolina, in Congress, 
declared : " The existence of mechan- 
ics and laborers [free white working- 
men] in society is due to the partial and 
progressive emancipation of slavery." 
Slavery, he urged, was their "natural 
and normal condition;" and declared 
that " when they [the white working- 



92 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



man and laborer] stepped out of bond- 
age, they branched off into four con- 
stantly recurring subdivisions — the thief, 
the beggar, the hireling, and the prostitute. " 
Hence, "free society was a failure, 11 "an 
•abortion," "ivas radically rotten and 
wrong /" And hence their slogan : "Sla- 
very is the natural and normal condition 
of the laborer!" "Slavery is right and 
necessary whether white or black." "Lib- 
erty for the Few, slavery in every form for 
the Masses /" 

Tims upon the ruins of the nation, 
upon the ruins of liberty and free insti- 
tutions, they proposed to erect a bar- 
barism in which free society and free 



labor would be expelled— in which mas- 
ter and slave, the oligarchal few organ- 
ized into a reigning caste and the masses 
white and black m slavery, would be 
the only classes. In that terrible revolt 
for a purpose so infamous, they, in round 
numbers, inflicted upon the nation a 
loss of 500,000 lives, slain in support of 
the Constitution and the Union, multi- 
plying widows and orphans and woe 
end suffering throughout the land, a 
loss in treasure of $6,200,000,000, and cre- 
ated a debt which will embarrass and 
burden our children's children for gen- 
erations to come. 



CHAPTEE IV. 



Political Assessments— Their Origin with the Demo- 
cratic Party, and their History. 



PART L 

The Conspiracy of 1876 of 
toe Confederate Briga- 
diers and Copperfiead 
Democracy to wrest the 
Control of the National 
Croverninent from the 
hands of the Republican 
Majority. 

The conspiracy of the Democratic 
minority, in 1876, to seize, through law- 
lessness and fraud, by every violent, 
unlawful, or corrupt agency, upon a 
"solid South," and through it, and a 
union with the Copperhead Democracy 
of the North, to wrest the National Gov- 
ernment from the control of the Repub- 
lican majority by a fraudulent seizure 
of the Presidency, may now be regarded 
as practically a confessed fact even by 
the Democracy ; but certainly as a fact 
established by overwhelming and irre- 
futable proofs. The Hamburg massa- 
cre, the Ellenton riots and their mur- 
derous results, the widespread and 
systematic outrages of the most san- 
guinary kind, and the systematic intimi- 
dation and ballot-box stuffing all over 
the reconstructed States, preceded by 
the admitted wholesale frauds and or- 
ganized murderous violence by which 
"the Mississippi plan " had in 1875 suc- 
ceeded in that and other States, in ex- 
pelling or suppressing their Republican 
majorities, with the exposure of the in- 
famous cipher dispatches, all combine 



in irrefutable proofs demonstrating the 
existence and the purpose of that con- 
spiracy. These proofs cannot now be 
successfully assailed. 

President Grant at the Forty-third 
Congress asks for Power to Protect 
the Republican Majorities in the Re- 
constructed States— The Bill for the 
Protection of Electors in certain 
States South— A hostile faction of the 
Republicans, with the aid of the Dem- 
ocracy, defeat the Bill— The Confeder- 
ate Brigadiers in consequence at sub- 
sequent elections in their States cap- 
ture the House— The Blouse becomes 
the Centre from whici. the Conspiracy 
is operated— Hostile Legislation, false 
pretenses of Bemocratic Retrench- 
ment, Bogus investigations by unscru- 
pulous Smelling Committees under 
an organized system of Espionage, In- 
formers, and Perjury, and other ma- 
chinery of the Conspiracy. 

At the second session of the Forty- 
third Congress, President Grant asked 
for power to enforce the constitutional 
rights of the Republican majorities in 
the reconstructed States. In compli- 
ance with that request, a bill was intro- 
duced intothe House for the protection 
ol electors in those States; but a hos- 
tile faction of the Republicans, uniting 
with the Democracy, succeeded in de- 
feating it, and in consequence the Con- 
federate brigadiers, through the most 
lawless and corrupt practices at the sub- 
sequent elections in those States, suc- 
ceeded in capturing the national House 
of Representatives. The House thus 
became the centre of the Democratic 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



conspiracy of 1876 to seize the Presi- 
dency. From it and through it the con- 
spiracy was operated throughout the 
States. Every agency, corrupt, hypo- 
critical, or other, was pressed into its 
service : investigations at an immense 
cost to the nation, by unscrupulous 
smelling committees, into lying general 
charges of fraud against the Republi- 
can administration, all of which wholly 
failed to develop a single fact in proof 
of these charges, but did succeed in un- 
earthing some very unsavory proofs of 
Democratic corruption in control of the 
House — all in pursuance of a system of 
espionage, informers, and reckless per- 
jury as corrupt as any which marked 
the declining days of ancient Rome ; 
with bogus reductions of the national 
expenditures for the double purpose of 
making a false showing of pretended 
Democratic retrenchment before the 
country and of crippling the labors 
or efficiency of the government, and 
kindred legislation for the purpose of 
destroying or paralyzing the powers of 
the Republican majority of the nation. 

The Law Respecting Political Assess- 
ments part of the fraudulent machin- 
ery of the Democratic Conspiracy of 
1876— It prohibits under prescribed 
penalties certain Government employ* 
ees from giving any money or valuable 
thing to any other Government em- 
ployee of a stated rank for partisan 
purposes— Passed, not to punish Arbi- 
trary political Assessments, for none 
were apprehended, but to prohibit 
Voluntary Contributions to and an ef- 
fective organization of the Republi- 
cans—Arbitrary and Compulsory po- 
litical assessments had their origin 
with the Democracy— Were enforced 
by the Democracy with a corrupt and 
tyrannical hand up to the latest hour 
of its long Misrule -When L.aw of 1876 
was passed the Democratic National 
and other Committees were assessing 
Democratic Senators and Members, the 
authors of the Law, for partisan pur" 
poses — At New York, wherever the 
Democrats had control of either State 
or Municipal Government, they were 
assessing a pro rata of Salaries ten 
times greater than 2 per cent.— The 
Law simply the fraudulent Agent of a 
corrupt Conspiracy. 

As a part of the conspiracy they en- 
acted the law of 1876 respecting politi- 
cal assessments. That law is as follows: 

Sec. 6. All executive officers or employe's of 
the United States not appointed by the Presi- 
dent, with the advice and consent of the Senate, 
are prohibited from requesting, giving to, or 
receiving from any other officer or employe" of 
the Government any money or property or 
other thing of value for political purposes ; and 
any such officer or employe" who shall offend 
against the provisions of this section shall be at 



once discharged from the service of the United 
States ; and he shall also be deemed guilty of a 
misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall 
befinedin a sum not exceeding$500. (Supplement 
to the Revised Statutes of the United States, 
section G, page 245.) 

In that the grand purpose of the Con- 
federate Brigadiers was to defeat if pos- 
sible the Republican majority in the 
approaching Presidential campaign by 
depriving them of the sinews of war, 
and consequently of the means of an ef- 
fective organization — by depriving their 
representative committees, or organs, 
of the means of communicating with 
the voters in the country, and discuss- 
ing before them the issues of the cam- 
paign ; that too, while actually prosti- 
tuting the national Treasury as a Dem- 
ocratic campaign fund through the 
printing of campaign documents as re- 
ports of the House and Senate, and so 
on They hoped that this law could be 
made to cover and defeat all voluntary 
contributions of money to representa- 
tive Republican bodies, like the Repub- 
lican Congressional Committee. They 
knew that there would be no arbitrary 
or compulsory assesssments on anyone, 
no assessments in fact of any kind, as 
there had never been, by any Republi- 
can body in the government or else- 
where ; but by clamor and the passage 
of this law they hoped to create the 
lying impression in the country that 
there had been and would be again, and 
that the organizations of the Republi- 
can party were supported by such as- 
sessments. That they did in the teeth of 
their own party history, in the teeth of 
the notorious fact that arbitrary and 
compulsory assessments of government 
officials for partisan purposes had their 
origin with the Democratic party ; that 
they were unknown in our party history 
prior to the beginning of that party ; 
that they had been enforced by the Dem- 
ocracy with a tyrannical hand from its 
origin throughout its long career of 
maladministration and fraud up to the 
latest hour of their misrule ; that at the 
moment of the passage of this act, the 
Democratic National and Congressional 
Committees were actually assessing 
Democratic Senators and members for 
partisan purposes, and that at New 
York City, and elsewhere, wherever the 
Democracy were in control of either 
State or municipal government, its com- 
mittees were arbitrarily assessing and 
forcing the payment of ten times two 
per cent, of the salaries of officials under 
their control. All that is shown, sup- 
ported by indisputable proofs, in the 
following pages of this chapter. Hence, 
this Democratic law respecting politi- 
cal assessments, in its origin and essence, 
as in its purpose, is a miserable Demo- 
cratic fraud ; a fraudulent agent of the 
violent and corrupt conspiracy in 1876 
by which the Copperhead and Confed- 



94 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



erate minority worked to wrest the 
control of the National Government 
from the hands of the Republican or 
loyal majority. 



PART II. 

The Contribution Circular 
of the Republican Con- 
gressional Committee — 
Senator Pendleton's Reso- 
lution and Speech, in the 
United States Senate, on 
Political Assessments. 

The Republican Congressional Commit- 
tee, the organ of the Republican Party 
instructs its Executive Officers, Chair! 
man Hubbell and Secretary Mender. 
son, to address the usual circular to 
the Employees of the Executive Gov- 
ernment, etc., requesting contribu- 
tions for Campaign purposes. 

At the beginning of the present cam- 
paign, the Congressional Eepublican 
Committee, the organ of the Republi- 
can party of the nation, located at Wash- 
ington, D. C, instructed its executive 
officers, its Chairman, (Judge Jay A. 
Hubbell,) and its Secretary, (Col. D. B. 
Henderson,) to address a copy of the 
usual contribution circular to every em- 
ployee of the Executive Government. 

The Circular — The Committee organ- 
ized for the Protection of the Inter- 
ests of the Republican Party in the 
Congressional Districts of the Union— 
In order to Meet all Proper Expenses 
for Preparing, Printing, and Circulat- 
ing Suitable Documents and other Ex- 
penses incident to the Campaign, the 
Committee feels Authorized to Apply 
to all Citizens whose Interests or 
Principles are Involved in the Strug- 
gle—It therefore Requests Contribu- 
tions from the Persons addressed, for 
these Campaign Purposes, and Warns 
Them that the Labors of the Commit- 
tee will Affect the Result of the Presi- 
dential Election, as well as the Pres- 
ent Congressional Struggle — No Coer- 
cion even Hinted at or Intended. 

Here is the circular : 

(Jay A. Hubbell, chairman; D. B. Henderson, 
secretary; Executive Committee— Hon. W. B. 
Allison, Hon. Eugene Hale, Hon. Nelson W. 
Aldrich, Hon. Frank Hiscock, Hon. George 
M. Robeson, Hon. William McKinley, jr., Hon. 
George R. Davis, Hon. Horatio G. Fisher, Hon. 
Horace F. Page, Hon W. H. Calkins, Hon. 
Thomas Ryan, Hon. Win. D. Washburn, Hon. 
L. C. Houk, Hon. R. T. Van Horn, Hon. Or- 
lando Hubbs.] 



Headquarters of the Republican 
Congressional Committee, 3882. 
520 Thirteenth Street, Northwest, 
Washington, D. C, May 15, 1882, 

Sir : This committee is organized for the pro- 
tection of the interests of the Republican party in 
each of the Congressional districts of the Union. 
In order that it may prepare, print, and circu- 
late suitable documents illustrating the issues 
which distinguish the Republican party from 
any other, and may meet all proper expenses 
incident to the campaign, the committee feels 
authorized to apply to all citizens whose prin- 
ciples or interests are involved in the struggle. 
Under the circumstances in which the country 
finds itself placed, the committee believes that 
you will esteem it both a privilege .and a pleas- 
ure to make to its fund a contribution which, it 
is hoped, may not be less than $— — . The com- 
mittee is authorized to state that such volun- 
tary contribution from persons employed in the 
service of the United States will not be objected 
to in any official quarter. 

The labors of the committee will affect there- 
suit of the Presidential election in 1884, as well 
as the Congressional struggle ; and it may there- 
fore reasonably hope to have the sympathy and 
assistance of all who look with dread upon the 
possibility of the restoration of the Democratic 
party to the control of the Government 

Please make prompt and favorable response 
to this letter by bank check or draft, or postal 
money order, payable to the order of Jay A. 
Hubbell, acting treasurer, post office lock-box 
589, Washington, D. C. 

By order of the committee, 

D. B. HENDERSON, 
Secretary. 

The Circular a Copy of that of 1880, ap- 
proved b y Civil Service Reform Presi- 
dent Hayes— It Levies no Assessment — 
It Pretends to no Power of Coercion — is 
simply a Request for Contributions in 
Support of the Republican Party in its 
Absolutely Necessary Expenses in the 
Campaign- A few Circulars Accident- 
ally Sent to Female Officials — Cor- 
rected as Soon as Discovered— Senator 
Pendleton's Resolution and Speech in 
Senate Arraigning the Committee and 
Party for Violating- the Law respect- 
ing* Political Assessments. 

This circular, in every particular but 
its date, is a copy of the Committee's cir- 
cular of 1880, which was submitted to and 
received the approval of the then " Civil 
Service Reform" President Hayes. It 
levies no assessment. It pretends to no 
power of coercion, but simply requests 
contributions from Republican officials 
in support of the Republican party in 
the present canvass to meet the abso- 
lutely necessary expenses of the cam- 
paign, leaving the officials addressed 
perfectly free to contribute or not. All 
that is perfectly understood. But the 
clerks of the Committee, in addressing 
these circulars, sent a few of them to fe- 
male officials in the Departments. It 
was a mistake, purely an accident. The 
official Blue Book was the only guide for 
the clerks in the matter, and it contains 
nothing to distinguish them from male 
officials; no "Miss'' or "Mrs." before their 
names; it has nothing but their initials, 
and the mistake was unavoidable. The 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



95 



mistake was instantly corrected upon be- 
coming known. But the Hon. George H. 
Pendleton, of Ohio, learning these facts, 
promptly on June 5, but with more zeal 
than discretion, brought the matter to 
the attention of the United States Sen- 
ate by the following resolution : 

Resolved, That the Committee on Civil Ser- 
vice and Retrenchment he instructed to inquire 
■whether any attempt is being 1 made to levy and 
collect assessments for political partisan pur- 
poses from any employees of the Government 
in Washington, whether the same be under the 
guise of asking voluntary contributions or oth- 
erwise ; and to report to the Senate by bill or 
otherwise, in its discretion. 

And, on June 26, Mr. Pendleton sup- 
ported this resolution in a speech in 
which he arraigns the Republican Con- 
gressional Committee, and through it 
the Republican party, as guilty of vio- 
lating the Democratic act of 1876 re- 
specting political assessments. He ar- 
raigns the Republican party for oppres- 
sion of employees in the Departments, 
and charges that the circular levies an 
assessment, and that it was intended 
and is understood to be compul sory . He 
concludes with an eulogy of the Demo- 
cratic party, in which he exclaims : 

The history of the Democratic party is before 
the country. It is a long and glorious history. 
For more than one-half of this century which is 
passing away it held possession of the powers of 
this Government, and illustrated the benefi- 
cence of its policy by an unexampled purity of 
administration. If he [Senator Conger] shall 
be able in the course of that long and illustri- 
ous career to find that either in its organization 
or its prominent men it has at times fallen into 
evil practices, I can tell him that the Demo 
cratic party has been subjected to discipline. 



PART III. 

Statesmen as Claim Igents 
— The Penclleto a- Belknap 
Kentucky Central Rail- 
road Job — Pendleton as- 
sesses fifty per cent, of the 
Proceeds. 

Who is Hon. Geo. H. Pendleton ?— What 
are his Qualifications as a Civil Ser- 
vice Reformer?— Have his Associa- 
tions with Belknap, in 1876, in the 
Kentucky Central Railroad Job 
been Condoned or Forgotten ? 

But who is Hon. Geo. H. Pendleton ? 
He is now posing as a Civil Service Re- 
iormer. What are his qualifications 
for that role ^ Has his association with 
Belknap, in 1876, in the Kentucky Cen- 
tral Kailroad job been condoned or 
forgotten ? Let us in this connection 
quote the estimate in 1876 of Mr. Pen- 
dleton by an organ of Civil Service Re- 
form : 



Pendleton Exonerates Belknap, but 
who Exonerates Pendleton — Pendle- 
ton's testimony before the House 
Belknap Committee, in 1876— A mat- 
ter of no little surprise and a g-reat 
deal of regret— Disappointment in 
the estimate of his Character— An 
Agent of Doubtful Claims — States- 
men as Claim Agents. 

Says the New York Evening Post of 
March 15, 1876, in an editorial headed, 
"Statesmen as Claim Agents:" 

Mr. Pendleton " exonerates the Secretary of 

War." says a morning journal; but lias Mr. 

Pendleton exonerated himself? His testimony 

before a Committee of the House of Represen- 

j tatives yesterday will occasion a great deal of 

i regret and no little surprise. Whatever may have 

been thought of some of his notions of political 

I economy, he has been regarded hitherto as a 

| man of high personal character. It has been 

I supposed that he aimed to consider public 

questions from the plane of the statesman 

i rather than the politician. He was believed to 

be a man of political refinement, if the term 

j may be used ; and if an observer of events had 

i been asked to name eminent Democrats who 

would scorn to undertake the negotiation of 

doubtful Federal claims, especially to become 

solicitors of a Republican administration which 

they had rebuked for its corrupt practices in 

such matters, the name of Mr. Pendleton would 

have appeared well up in the list. How far he 

has come short of the estimate which has been 

formed of him the simple narrative of his case 

shows. 

The Kentucky Central Railroad Claim 
—Disallowed by Secretary of War 
Stanton— Claimants have little Faith 
in Validity of Claim— Offer 50 per cent, 
"to get it through"— Hon. Geo. H. 
Pendleton collars the job— Belknap 
helps it through — Amount of Claim 
$148,00 0— Pendleton pockets S73.000 
or $65,000— Extortionate and Mon- 
strous, Character of the Assessment 
—Pendleton declares that he did not 
Bribe Belknap— What shall be said of 
Statesmen as Claim Agents ? 

The Post adds : 

The claim of the Kentucky Central Railroad, 
which was allowed by Secretary Belknap after 
having been rejected at least once by Secretary 
Stanton, was for compensation for transporta- 
tion of troops during the war. Payment had 
been made to the amount of a certain percent- 
age of the regular rates, and the owners of the 
road asked for a further allowance. Evidently 
there was not much faith in the validity of the 
claim, for one of the owners said that he would 
give tifty per centum of it " to anybody who 
would get it through." Men do not so easily re- 
linquish one-half of $150,000 which they oelieve 
there is a strong probability of their getting. 
Mr. Pendleton, however, thought the prize 
worth trying for. As (l) administrator of the 
estate of his brother-in-law, Mr. Bowler, an es- 
tate which owned three-fifths of the road, and 
as representative in that capacity of two minor 
children ; as (2) president of the road ; and as 
(3) Mr. George H. Pendleton, he made with 
himself a triple agreement under which he se- 
cured a good deal more than fifty per centum. 
The amount paid upon i he claim, he says, was 
either $148,000 or $140,000. Of this amount he 
received for himself $80,000 or $90,000, he is not 
sure which. The remainder— $50,000, $58,000, $60,- 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



000 or 368,000, as the case may be— went to the 
two minor children and the other owners of the 
road. He paid from his own share $15,000 to 
one Ransom, who had some former connection 
with the claim, so that Mr, Pendleton's net gain 
from the transaction was $65,000 or $75,000, or 
from $7,000 to $15,000 more than his clients, if 
they were his clients, received. Upon the as- 
sumption that they were clients, it must he said 
that the counsel fee was extortionate. Upon 
the assumption that Mr. Pendleton was a trus- 
tee and guardian the charge was still more 
monstrous. 

This c iticism proceeds upon the ground that 
there was no bribery in the case, as Mr. Pen- 
dleton says that there was not. Belknap is en- 
titled to the exoneration which Mr. Pendleton 
has given him ; but what shall be said of states- 
men aa claim agents ? 



PART IV. 

Pendleton's Qualifications 
as a Civil Service Reform- 
er — His War and Finan- 
cial Records — A Typical 
Copperhead Democrat— 
Theoretically Virtuous 
and Patriotic. 

Pendleton's Qualifications as a Civil 
Service Reformer — A Claim Agent 
posing as a Statesman gobbling the 
Lion Sbare of Pelf through doubtful 
War Claims— If an assessment of two 
per cent, upon Government Officials 
for partisan purposes would be un- 
lawful or Corrupt, what is an assess- 
ment of fifty per cent, upon fraudu- 
lent claims by a would-be Civil Ser- 
vice Reform Leader in his Individual 
Interests. 

Does such a record qualify a Senator 
as a Civil Service Reformer'? A doubt- 
ful if not an absolutely fraudulent 
claim, once disallowed by an incorrup- 
tible minister, and its final allow- 
ance by a corrupt minister tainted with 
a charge of bribery as a corrupt in- 
ducement for its passage, and of the 
gross sum thus allowed the Senator 
pocketing the largest share! If a con- 
tribution— call it an assessment, if you 
please, for the sake of the argument — 
of two per cent, upon Government of- 
ficials above a stipulated grade, for the 
purpose of supporting the Republican 
party in its contests with the Democ- 
racy — with a solid South and its vio- 
lent and corrupt election agencies — and 
consequently, in support of every na- 
tional, material and patriotic interest — 
indeed, in support of these officials 
themselves, whose places depend wholly 
upon the success of the Republican 
party — if such a contribution for such 
purposes be corrupt or unlawful, what 
is the character of an assessment in the 



individual interests of Hon Geo. H. 
Pendleton of fif zy per cent, upon tainted 
claims liquidated by a Belknap ? 

This Conflict of Pretended Virtue and 
doubtful acts no new Feature in Pen- 
dleten's Character— In 1862, a Rebel 
Sympathiser, posing as a Union- 
ist in the National House of Repre- 
sentatives, and denouncing the 
Greenback, when absolutely needed 
for the Support of the Union Forces 
in the field, as unconstitutional, «fcc. 
—In 1864, still posing as a Unionist, 
the Candidate for Vice President of 
the Copperhead Democracy upon a 
Platform denouncing the war for the 
Union as a Failure— Later, when all 
men of Sound Financial Views were 
struggling to Resume Specie Pay- 
ments, Pendleton becomes the en- 
thusiastic Partisan of the Greenback, 
pronouncing it constitutional, «fce.— 
He now, as during the Rebellion, 
would deny the Republican Party all 
the Sinews of War, in its conflict with 
Democracy, in the assured belief that 
the Success now of the Democratic 
Party would be scarcely less fatal to 
every national interest than would the 
the triumph of the Democracy in Re- 
hellion. 

Nor is such a violent contrast of pre- 
tended virtue and doubtful acts a new 
thing in the Senator's biography. In 1862, 
when the nation was struggling for ex- 
istence against the Democracy in arms 
for its destruction, and when our green- 
back currency was absolutely needed 
for the support of the Union forces in 
the field— when without those green- 
backs the National Government must 
have abandoned the contest and seces- 
sion have triumphed— the patriotic Sen- 
ator, then a member of the House, with 
pronounced rebel sympathies while pos- 
ing as a Unionist, opposed their issue as 
unconstitutional and destructive of the 
best interests of the country. In 1864, 
while still posing as a patriot, he was the 
candidate of the Copperhead Democ- 
racy for Vice President upon a platform 
which denounced the war for the Union 
"a failure." Later, when the national 
forces had triumphed over the Democ- 
racy in rebellion, and the Republican 
party, all men of all parties of sound 
financial views, were struggling to get 
back to the constitutional currency of 
the Nation, to the resumption of specie 
payments, the consistent and patriotic 
Pendleton became the enthusiastic par- 
tisan of the greenback. He now pro- 
nounced it constitutional. He declared 
that its practically unlimited issue was 
demanded by the great needs of all the 
industrial or business interests of 
the country. So now, again, Senator 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



9T 



Pendleton, affecting a disbelief that the 
Democratic party had ever been guilty ; 
of assessing government officials for 
partisan purposes, arraigned, with all 
the airs and flourishes of superior virtue, 
the Republican Congressional Commit- I 
tee, and through it the Republican j 
party of violating the Democratic law j 
of 1876 respecting political assessments, ; 
and indulged in an extravagant eulogy i 
of the Democratic party in all its past 
history. The patriotic Senator would 
now, as during the Rebellion, withhold 
from the organs of the Republican | 
party all the sinews of war, being fully j 
assured that the triumph now of the | 
Democracy in obtaining possession of 
the National Government would be 
hardly less fatal to every material in- 
terest of the Nation, to every national in- 
terest, than would have been the suc- 
cess of the Democracy in arms for the 
overthrow of the government. 



PART V. 

Senators Allison and Hale, 
members of the Repub- 
lican Congressional Com- 
mittee, in the Senate, d is. 
pose of Pendleton's Ab- 
snrd Screed— Mr. Hiscoek. 
a member of the Commit- 
tee, disposes in the HEonse 
of Springer's and S. S.Cox's 
hypocritical Palaver. 

Senator Allison Corrects Pendleton's 
Grave Misapprehensions— The Circu- 
lar in its essence and spirit a Volun- 
tary Circular— It has none of the ele- 
ments ol Compulsion— A Copy of Civil 
Service Reform President Hayes's Cir- 
cular of 1SS9, issued after Consulta- 
tion with Hayes's Cabinet^Hayes op- 
posed to Political Assessments— The 
Circular in no sense an Assessment- 
Sent not merely to Government offi- | 
cials, but to all Republicans likely to 
Contribute — Government officials per- 
fectly free to Contribute or not. 

Mr. Pendleton was promptly met and 
answered by Senators Allison and Hale, 
members of the Republican Congress- 
ional Committee. Mr. Allison said : 

Mr. President, T rise chiefly to correct some mis- 
apprehensions, and grave misapprehensions, 
thai t lie Senator fromOhio [Mr.Pendleton] seems 
tohave fallen into, and upon which misapprehen- 
sions he has based his remarks to a very great j 
extent. This circular, I need not argue, is in 
its essence and in its spirit a voluntary circu- 



lar. It has none of the element s of compulsion 
in it, upon which the Senator from Ohio has- 
made bis comments. The circular which was 
read by the Sena~or from Ohio, I will say to 
him. is an exact copy of the circular tbat 'was 
printed and circulated by tbe Republican Con- 
gressional National Committe t in 1880, save and 
except tha' " 1880 " is stricken out and •' 1882 " 
inserted. The circular of 1880 alluded to the 
Presidential election of that year, and this cir- 
cular makes the same allusion to the Presiden- 
tial election of 1884. 

The circular of 1880 was issued by the then 
Congressional Committee of the Kepublican 
party. It was issued after consideration by 
the members of the committee, and after con- 
sultation with the gentlemen who then con- 
trolled the various Executive Departments of 
this Government. It was well known at the 
time that President Havei objected to what 
w re known as political assessments, and the 
Congressional Committee did not undertake to 
make political a-sessments in any sense; and 
I want to proclaim now that this is not and is 
not intended to be a political assessment, and 
every man who holds office or is in public em- 
ployment is just as much at liberty, if he so 
chooses, to decline to make this contribution as 
any citizen of the Senator's State is at liberty 
to decline if he does not see proper to make the 
contribution voluntarily. 

Mr. BECK. I should like to ask one question 
for the benefit of some poor people. Do you 
believe they will be allowed to retain the posi- 
tions they now hold if they fail to contribute 1 
I should like to know that. 

Mr. ALLISON". I thank the Senator from 
Kentucky for asking me that question. I was 
coining to that in a moment. 

Mr. BECK. Several could not retain their 
places after 1880 that refused. I know. 

Mr. A' LISON. In 1880, as I said, this identi- 
cal circular was issued. A Presidential cam- 
paign of geat interest to the American people 
was then going forward, and a struggle was be- 
ing made then for the control of the House of 
Representatives by the two great contending 
parties in this country. This circular was sent 
then, as now, to employees of the Government, 
and to men who were not employees of the gov- 
ern -nent It was sent to persons who were sup- 
posed to be willing to contribute to the success 
of the Republican party. 

Senator Allison's Reply to Senator 
Beck's inquiry — Government officials 
absolutely free to Contribute or Xot 
at their pleasure— Of 100,000 Govern- 
ment employees addressed iu 1880 
only 11,514 Contributed— Xot one of 
t lie Delinquents removed or disturbed 
in his place — Xot one will ever be by 
Republican Officials in authority. 

I now come to giV3 the answer to the Senator 
f i om Kentucky, and I want him to listen to 
what I sav. To that circular in 1880 only 11,514 
affirmative responses were made of the vast 
number of employees of the United States who 
a -e scattered throughout its borders. Of the 
100,000 people in public employment only a little 
more than one-tenth responded affirmatively ; 
and I now stand in my place and ask the Sen- 
ator from Kentucky or the Senator from Ohio 
to name one single' office holder who failed to 
contribute in 1880 who was removed from of- 
fice for that cause? Of the 100,000 public em- 
ploye s. only a little over 11,000 contributed in 
1880, and I believe that not one man h s ever 
been disturbed in his place because he did 
no" respond favorably to that circular. So that 
so far from this being a compulsory circular, it 
is simply a voluntary one ; and that was all the 
statement that I intended to make, or that I 
propose to make to-day in reference to this 
matter. 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



Being a member of this committee, and to the 
extent of membership being responsible for its 
action, I wish to say as such member that I re- 
gard this circular of 1880 and this circular of 
1882 as simply a request for a voluntary contri- 
bution, and to my belief there has never been a 
man removed from place because he did not re- 
8p< nd to it favorably, and in my belief no man 
will be disturbed hereafter if he fails for 
any cau.se to respond favorably to this circu- 
lar. 

Senator Hale also Corrects the Grave 
Misapprehensions of Senator Pendle- 
ton— The Circular Simply a request ad- 
dressed to Republicans for Contribu- 
tions in Support of the Republican 
Cause— It was not issued in the dark, 
or Secretly, or Covertly, but publicly, 
and without mystery— The Commit- 
tee have no apologies for the Circular 
-So woman or poor day-laborer has 
been knowingly requested to Con- 
tribute — Xone were expected to Con- 
tribute. 

Senator Hale said : 

There has been no intention on the part of 
the committee in sending out this little cir- 
cular, three inches by eight, as shown by in- 
spection, of oppressing anybody ; and it has not 
been sent out in the dark. There has been no 
secrecy, nothing whatever covert, nothing- 
whatever apologetic on the part of the Repub- 
lican Congressional Committee in that act 
signed by Colon 1 Henderson, its secretary. It 
in sending out numerous circulars asking em- 
plo., ees of the Government if they were willing 
to contribute to a cause which they believe to 
be the greatest politically that agitates men's 
thoughts in this country, there has been here 
and there a circular delivered to some poor 
woman in a Department or outside of Washing- 
ton, that has never been intended. The whole 
scope and aim of political contributions as en- 
gineered by Congressional committees, whether 
on the one side or the other, has never been a 
mystery, and there is no more mystery about it 
to-day than there ever was before. No woman 
has ever been request* d except where under 
her initials she has appeared as a man, nor has 
any poor day -laborer been intended to be even 
solicited. If there has been any such poor la- 
borer that has received any invitation of this 
kind, he may be assured that he will never be 
troubled again by the Republican Congressional 
Committee, whether he pays or not. 

Senator Hale defies Pendleton, or any 
Man, to Specify a Single Act of the 
Committee or its Officers, or an Act of 
the whole Republican Caucus, Indi- 
cating that any Employee not Contri- 
buting will be Punished — The Com- 
mittee Simply Ask for Contributions 
as Church and other Organizations 
Ask for Contributions in Support of 
Lawful Ends — Pendleton, if he ever 
becomes President, will, as the Foun- 
tain of Executive Patronage, become 
the Head Centre of Democratic Polit- 
ical Assessments upon the Recipients 
of his Patronage. 

I defy the Senator from Ohio, or any man, 
whoever he may be, either in this little circular 
or any correspondence of the Committee, or 
any resolution of the Committee, or any utter 
ance of any single member of the Committee, 



or of the whole Republican caucus that consti- 
tuted the Committee, to find anywhere a single 
act indicating that the screws were to be #ut 
upon men ; but we have gone out just as men go 
out in other fields, just as men go out in volun- 
tary associations and ask the members, when 
an emergency arises, if they are willing to g ve, 
just as church and parish organizations are 
conducted. Does the Senator know that in run- 
ning a society, whether it be social, educational, 
or religious, if an emergency arises, if a conflict 
impends, if means are legitimately needed, the 
men that are naturally sought are the men who 
belong to the association ? Does he know that 
no man considers himself, to use his language, 
degraded and insulted because he has the op- 
portunity offered him ? 

This thing has always been done, and if the 
Senator from Ohio ever becomes the President 
of the United States, the head of his party, with 
the distribution of patronage and the control of 
patronage, he will find that it will be done then 
as it was always done by the Democratic party. 

Senator Hale Defends the Circular in 
its Essence and Purpose — Contribu- 
tions by Government Employees in 
Support of a Campaign Fund for leg- 
itimate Party Purposes, Voluntarily 
Given, without Coercion or Oppres- 
sion, Morally Right — The Circular 
Asks and Intends Nothing Else. 

But the question to be fairly considered, Mr 
President, the question that thoughtful men 
should consider, the question that , prudent, 
patriotic men should consider here, is whether 
the matter of voluntary contributions for legit- 
imate campaign purposes shall be conducted 
freely, openly, without oppression ; that there 
should be no yoke imposed upon a man in of- 
fice; that there should be no threat held over 
him because he is in office ; that there should be 
nothing imperious aud tyrannical, and so long 
as it is done in that way you have got nothing 
more t han what I may say .and stand here boldly 
to maintain is a legitimate source of contribu- 
tion to a proper political fund for the purposes 
of legitimately carrying on a campaign. When 
I have said this for our circular I have said all 
that I need to say, I think, as to its moral force. 

Mr. Hiscock, a Member of the Commit- 
tee, Exposes and Repels in the House 
Springer's Officious and Hypocritical 
Eament over the Pretended Oppres- 
sion of Republicans in Office — The 
Committee Asks no Advice as to their 
Circulars or Methods from I> e m © - 
crats— Mr. Hiscock Indorsed the Cir- 
cular—It is Right that Republican Offi- 
cials, even One-armed and One-legged 
Soldiers, should Contribute to Legiti- 
mate Campaign Expenses — Of what 
One-armed or One-legged Soldier, of 
what Union Soldier, was Springer the 
Advocate ? 

Mr. Hiscock, in the House, said : 

I wish to say to the gentleman from Illinois 
[Mr. Springer] that he has no authoi ity- to speak 
for the Congressional Committee. It will speak 
by its own circulars and its own method*. We 
are not asking information from the other side 
as to what those methods should be. I stand 
here putting a fair construction— the construc- 
tion intended — upon their circulars, willingnow 
and forever to indorse them. It is right that 
citizens of this country— one-legged and one- 
armed soldiers, if you please— should contribute, 
if they choose, to the expenses of an election. 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



99 



.And I aru not here to blush for them. [Ap- 
plause.] 

Mr. Chairman, I would like to know what offi- 
cer of this House, a one-armed or one-legged 
soldier, Union soldier, has asked the gentleman 
from Illinois to appear here as his advocate and 
■his representative? 



PART VI. 

deorge William Curtis's 
circular to tavern in ent 
Employees respecting tlie 
Republican Con gress- 
ional Committee's Contri- 
bution Circular — Corres- 
pondence of Cbairman 
Hubbell ami Curt is — 
Opinions of Attor ney- 
General and ^Letter of Sec- 
retary Folger — Curtis in 
the Role of Reformer. 

The Civil Service Reform Circular— Mr. 
Curtis declares Republican Congress- 
ional Committee's Circular request- 
ing Contributions illegal — Signifi- 
cantly Calls attention to tiie provis- 
ions and penalties of the Law of 187G 
— Warns Employees to prudently re- 
frain from Complying with the Com- 
mittee's request— The Civil Service 
Reformers attempt to Bulldoze or In- 
timidate Government Employees by 
Implied Threats of Persecution. 

The following circular was sent to 
•the principal employees of the Govern- 
ment in the United States : 

Civil Service Reform Association, 
New York, June 17, 1882. 
Dear Sir : We understand that a circular has 
recently been sent to you from the Republican 
Congressional Conmiittc, asking for contribu- 
tion towards defraying the expenses of that 
committee at the coming election. 

We desire to inform you that, in the opinion 
of counsel, as the members of the committee are 
officers of the United States Government, you 
as an officeholder are liable, under section 6 of 
chapter 287 of the United States Statutes, 1876, 
(supplement to Revi-ed Statutes, page 245), to 
punishment by fine or removal from office, or 
both, in case you subscribe as requested. The 
National Civil-Service Reform League proposes 
to bring the matter to the attention of the At- 
torney-General and other prosecuting olficers 
of the United States, and until their decision is 
iiiven we should advise you prudently to refrain 
from complying with the request of the com- 
mi tee. 
Respectfullv, 

GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS, 

President. 
EVERETT P. WHEELER, 

Chairman Executive Committee. 
WILLIAM POTTS, 
Secretary for the New York 

Civil Service Reform Association. 



Chairman Hubbell's reply— He joins is- 
sue with Mr. Curtis and the Civil-Ser- 
vice Reform Circular to Government 
employees as to the character of the 
Committee's Circular — Tie denies that 
it violates the law of 1876— He charges 
that 3Ir. Curtis misstates and perverts 
the law in an attempt to alarm, that 
is, to Intimidate or Bulldoze, Govern- 
ment Employees— Proposes to refer 
the interpretation of the Law to 17. S. 
Attorney-General— If the law has been 
violated, then he, Chairman Hubbell, 
is equally guilty with the Contributing 
Culprit— He challenges, therefore, as 
the more manly and honorable course, 
to bring the issue to a decision by a 
prosecution of himself. 

Hnn. Jay A. Hubbell, chairman of the 
Republican Congressional Committee, 
addressed the following letter to George 
William Curtis in reply to the Civil- Ser- 
vice Reform Association circular to 
Government employees : 

Housk or Representatives, 
Washington, D. C , June 22, 1882. 
Sir : I understand that a circular signed by 
I you has been sent to large numbers of persons 
I employed iu the service of the United States, 
i advising them te refrain from complying with 
| the r< quest of the Republican Congressional 
Committee for a contiibuti on to its campaign 
I fund. In this circular you state that "in the 
{ opinion of counsel, a> the members of the Re- 
! publican Congressional Committer are officers 
of the United States Government," all persons 
making contributions to such committee will 
render themselves liable under section 6, chap- 
ter 287, United States Statutes. If it be law 
that persons paying become thereby liable to 
a penalty, I, being a member of Congress and 
the treasurer who receives that payment, am 
also liable. 

I am willing to meet you on this question 
anywhere or at any time, and to unite with you 
in requesting the President to ask an opinion 
of the Attorney-General. If you desire anj r other 
form of action in any tribunal which can give 
an immediate consideration of the point, I will 
join in testing the soundness of the circular, 
and I invite you to this mode of settlement, as 
both are more manly ar.d more honorable than 
your attempt to confuse the action or alarm 
the minds of the employees alluded to. The law 
is misstated in your circular, and the alarm you 
seek to create is without justification in the 
law, your counsel, to whom you vaguely al 
lude, either misunderstanding or perverting 
it. Disdaining to seek shelter behind any 
cover, I therefore challenge you to the step 
necessary to an immediate determination of 
' the degree of responsibility which is attached 
to this fact, and to the correctness of your cir- 
cular, which I distinctly deny. 

Yours, JAY A. nUBBELL, 

Chairman and Treasurer 
Republican Congressional Committee. 
To Mr. George William Cl'rtis,-Ncw York, 
President Civil-Service Reform Association. 

Mr. Curtis rejoins— He practically con- 
fesses the Bulldozing Purpose of the 
Civil-Service Reform Association Cir- 
cular, and Lamentably attempts to 
extenuate or defend it — Characteris- 
tically utters, upon pretended infor- 
mation, a willful libel that Clerks, 
errand boys, and girls are "virtually 



100 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



threatened" by the Committee's Cir- 
cular with loss of Place— Prates with 
hypocritical indignation about the 
abases flowing- from his own false 
statements of the Law and Facts— Eu- 
logizes the Democratic authors of the 
Law of 1876, the authors of the cor- 
rupt and tyrannical practice of arbi- 
trary and compulsory partisan as- 
sessments, and charges all their sins 
against Innocent Republicans, but 
fails to accept Chairman Hubbell's 
challenge to bring the matter to a de- 
cision before the X". S. Attorney-Gen- 
eral or the Couris — Proves himself 
the Joseph Surface of Civil-Service 
Reform. 

The Hon. George William Curtis has 
written the following to the Hon. Jay 
A. Hub bell : 

Hon. Jay A. Hubbell, 

Chairman and Treasurer, d-c. 

Sir : I Lave received your letter of the 23d in- 
stant, in which you comment upon the circular 
of the Civil-Service Reform Association, advis- 
ing certain employees of the government that 
they may render themselves liable to legal pen- 
alties should they yield to a requisition to pay 
a specified part of their salaries into the treas- 
ury of your committee. Upon this suggestion 
you remark : "The law is misstated in your cir- 
cular, and the alarm you seek to create is with- 
out justification in the law. Your counsel, to 
whom you vaguely allude, either misunder- 
stands or perverts it." 

It seems to me, however, that a man who 
lives with his family upon $500 or $600 a year 
would find it much more alarming and con 'us- 
ing to be summoned to pay 2 per ceut. of that 
amount than to be told that such payment 
might lead to legal trouble. If, indeed, there 
be any question of comparative manliness and 
honor in the transaction, it strikes me that 
virtually to threaten laborers in navy-yards and 
elsewhere, clerks, errand boys, and even women 
and girls, in the pub ic offices, to whom I am 
informed that circulars have been sent, that 
they are in danger of dismissal if they do not 
surrender a part of their wages, is conduct 
quite as open to the charge of want of manli- 
ness and honor as the act of warning such la- 
borers that the law probably protects them 
against the demand. 

You remark that you disdain "to seek pro- 
tection and shelter behind any cover." You 
will not, therefore, attempt to hide under tne 
pitiful pretence that tae assessment of 2 per 
cent., or other specific sum levied by the Con- 
gressional Cojamittee, is an invitation to make 
a "voluntary contribution." It is stated that 
30,000 or more of the circulars of your Commit- 
tee have been sent out. I havcpersonal knowl- 
edge of them as addressed to employees of the 
Government from Kentucky to New England, 
and they are undoubtedly daily mailed to every 
part of the Union. They are apparently ad- 
dressed exclusively to public employees, and 
those employees undoubtedly understand that 
the alternative is that of payment or dismissal. 
The demand is issued by a Committee which 
knows that such is the general understanding 
in the service. I once pleaded with a superior 
officer against the injustice of this assessment 
upon poor men earning small wages and re- 
duced to despair by the demand, and he told me 
hotly and plainly that for every one that did 
not wish to pay there were fifty persons ready 
to take his place with all its incumbrances. 
It is not necessary for me to poiut out to you 
that this is practically a sale of the public ser- 
vice to the highest bidder; ihat it destroys the 
self-respect of the public employees, aud that it ' 



is necessarily fatal to honest politics, and econ- 
omical administration. If the wages of the 
public service are too high let them be reduced. 
But by ^what right does a committee of an irre- 
sponsible club of members of Congress levy 
pa-ty toll upon the public employees under pain 
of dismissal? You. sir, are chairman and treas- 
urer of the Republican Congressional Commit- 
tee. What party authority constituted that 
Committee? In what way is it responsible to 
the Republican party 'I If a levy of money is to 
be nnide upon employees of the Government for 
the benefit of a party treasury, which I hold to- 
be a peri ous abuse, it should be authorized by 
those whom the party designates for the pur- 
pose. It is certainly not a duty to be assumed. 
! by any committee of members of the party 
\ elected for another purpose. If such a commit - 
j tee may demand 2 per cent, of wages, it may ex- 
| tort 20 per cent, under the same'teuer. Other- 
similar c mimittees may do the same thing, and 
in fact the public employees are now subject to 
various demands of the kind. The money thus 
coerced by irresponsible committees is expended 
in ways of which there is no public account. It 
becomes often a vast corrupt iou fund, di awn 
from the public treasury by the party in power 
to secure its continued control of the Govern- 
ment. This is a dangerous blow to free institu- 
tions, and the general knowledge of the abuse 
necessarily destroys popular confidence in the 
honesty of elections, and brings us face to face 
i with a catastrophe. 

Undoubtedly there are legitimate political ex- 
penses for every party, and in a free country 
i everybody should be at liberty to aid and 
i to refuse to aid his party. Bit the public 
j employees of the Government are usually se- 
lected in a way which practicall deprives them 
of the liberty of givinsr or withholding such 
j aid at their pleasure. If a man knows that he 
holds his place by personal favor, he will nat- 
! urally propitiate that favor in order to retain, 
his place. It was the knowledge that the lib- 
erty of the office-holder in this matter is thus 
impaired which led Congress to pass the act of 
protection to which our circular refers. That 
act recognizes as universal experience and the 
reason of the case shows, that a Government 
employee Avhose family depends upon his wages 
is not deluded by the phrase "voluntary con- 
tribution," and fears that he cannot refuse to 
pay without taking the risk of dismissal. Hie 
refusal, indeed, would not be alleged as the rea 
son. but it would be the reason; and to say to 
an employee, as the circular of the Congres- 
sional Committee says, that his " contribution 
will not be objected to in any official quarter," 
is merely to tighten the screw. It is a hint to 
him that the demand is known and approved by 
those who can dismiss him. You assert your 
willingness to ask the President to ask the opin- 
ion of the Attorney-General. But your circular 
has been sent to the employees in the Attorney- 
General's office, and it distinctly assures them 
them hy necessary implication that the head of 
the office does not object. If you read the news- 
papers carefully you are aware of the very gen- 
eral public condemnation of the pi actice of po- 
litical assessments, and they are condemned, 
for the precise reason that such assessments 
are not what they pretend to be— "volun- 
tary contributions." If you ask me to con 
tribute to your treasury. I am a private citizen, 
and I can give or refuse without suffering But 
if you and your associates ask my neighbor, 
who is employed in the custom-house, for acon- 
tribution. he feels that he is in danger if he de- 
clines. This is the infringement of the equal 
liberty of citizens which makes this practice 
odious, while its inevitable consequences make 
it threatening to the public welfare. The asso- 
ciation of which I have the honor to be presi- 
dent will spare no lawful effort to restore that 
equal liberty to every citizen. 

George William Curtis, 

President of tlie Xew York Civil-Service Reform- 
Association. 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



101 



Counsel of Civil-Service Reform Associ- 
ation, in a Letter to Chairman Hub- 
bell, Support Mr. Curtis— They Refuse 
upon a Pettifogging Plea to Refer the 
Interpretation of the Law to United 
States Attorney-General — Thus De- 
cline to accept Chairman Hubbcll's 
Challenge of Prosecution against 
Himself, but with a Meanness Char- 
acteristic of the so-called Reformer 
make an Offer, which no Honorable 
Man could act upon, that Chairman 
Hubbell Unite with them in the Pros- 
edition of some Government Em- 
ployee who had Contributed to the 
Republican Campaign Fund. 

The letter of Civil-Service Reform 
Association Counsel : 



Nos. 8 and 10 Pine Street, New York, 
June 24, 1882. 
Hon. Jay A. Hubbell: 

Sir— Hon. George William Curtis lias handed 
to us your letter to liim of the 22d inst., to which j 
he proposes to reply at once. In answer to your j 
specific propositions we would say on behalf of 
the Civil-Service Reform Association, of which 
we are the counsel, that it would give the asso- 
ciation and ourselves much satisfaction to have 
an immediate opportunity of "testing the sound- 
ness of the circular" to which you refer. The Cir- 
cuit Court of the United States for the Southern 
district of New York is now in session. We will 
make a test case of any one which you may se- 
lect of the numerous payments which have been, 
.as we are informed, made to you in this district 
in response to your circular by executive officers 
or employees of the United States not appointed 
by the President by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate. We will, if you concur 
in this suggestion and select the case, request 
the Attorney of the United States to proceed at 
•once by information against the offender. We 
will request him to state in this information the 
facts exactly as they exist, so that the counsel 
for the defendant may demur to the information 
at once. 

With his concurrence, which we believe would 
be cheerfully given, if you concur through your 
counsel in facilitating the proceeding, we doubt 
not the Court will fix an early day for the hear- 
ing. 

And thus this important question will be judi- 
cially determined. 

The motion in arrest of judgment, in the case 
of the United States against Newton M. Curtis, 
is appointed to be argued before the full bench 
of the same Circuit Court on the 28th inst. This 
circumstance will, in all probability, enable us 
to have a hearing before the full bench of this 
Court at an earlier day than it could be ob- 
tained elsewhere, should you desire such a hear- 
ing 

We do not accept your proposition to request 
the President to take the opinion of the Attor- 
ney-General. We have requested the distin- 
guished head of the Department of Justice to 
give instructions to the attorneys of the United 
States in the several districts, in accordance i 
with sections 362 aud 771 of the Revised Statutes, ! 
to prosecute all delinquents for offenses against | 
the act of Congress in reference to political con- 
tributions. Whatever the private opinion of a ! 
prosecuting officer may be, we understand that 
it is his official duty, upon the reasonable com- | 
plaint of respectable citizens, to present that \ 
complaint in legal form to the Court for its de- 
cision. We have no right to ask his opinion. 
We have a right to ask his official action. 

You will also observe that we do not propose 
to raise the question by an information against ' 
you. 



The act of Congress referred to does not in 
terms make it a misdemeanor for a legislative 
officer to receive the contribution which it for- 
bids an executive officer to pay to any other of- 
ficer of the government. Of your action Con- 
gress aud your constituents can judge. 

But we think it is clear, and we presume you 
will not dispute, that you are a legislative officer 
of the government and that therefore payments 
to you are illegal. 

Iu conclusion permit us to inform you that 
there is a very general fear among employees 
of the government that if they do not make the 
contributions you request they will be dis- 
missed from the service of the United States. 
We have been appealed to by many whose fam- 
ilies are dependent on them for support, who 
can ill spare the two per cent, you ask, but who 
cannot afford to lose their places and their 
meagre income. In the words of the late Presi- 
dent Garfield, these requests are made of em- 
ployees "with the distinct understanding that 
unless they paid that per cent, upon their sal- 
aries others will be found to take their places 
who will pay the assessment." And we believe 
that a very large proportion of the money re- 
ceived by you from such officeholder is paid 
under duress. We will <?ladly join you in a let- 
ter to the President asking him to issue an ex- 
ecutive order that no removal shall be made 
for a refusal to pay the contribution you re- 
quest. 

We follow your example in giving this letter 
to the press. Yours respectfully, 

EVERETT P. WHEELER, 
FREDERICK W. WHITRIDGE. 

Chairman Hubbell in Reply Exposes, 
the Meanness and Persistent False- 
hood of Mr. Curtis— No Excuse or Jus- 
tification for such False Representa- 
tions as that the Committee's Circular 
"Virtually Threatens "—The Contri- 
butions were Intended to be and are 
wholly Voluntary —Chairman Hubbell 
Challenges Curtis to Point to a Single 
Instance in support of his False State- 
ment—Senators and Members, in their 
Places and upon Their Responsibility 
Give Curtis the Eie— The Committee's 
Circular Violates no Law-It Infringes 
no Right either of the Citizen or Offi- 
cial—He Repels with Indignation Cur- 
tis's Counsel's oner to unite in the Pros- 
ecution of some Government Employee 
as a Test of the Eaw— Chairman Hub- 
bell will be guilty of no such act of 
Dishonor, no such Meanness— Hubbell 
will continue to Support the For- 
tunes of the Republican Party— Cur- 
tis may continue his role of Partisan 
of Rallot-Box St u tier, of Efficient Ally 
of the Bourbon Bull-dozer. 

House of Representatives, 

Washington*, D. C, July 6, 1882. 
Sir : I have received your letter of the 2ith 
ultimo, and that of your lawyers of the same 
date. A few words will make the only reply 
which I think they require. You continue to 
assert that the circular siimed by me "virtually 
threatens" with dismissal the officers and em- 
ployees to whom it is addressed, should they not 
"surrender part of their wages." There is no 
excuse for such a misrepresentation. The 
phraseology of the circular shows an absolute 
absence of all language of threat. It also, af- 
firmatively, shows that the request is for a vol- 
untary contribution. Your misrepresentation 
is, therefore, without justification in the lan- 
guage of the circular. It is equally without jus- 



10s 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



tification in the purpose of it. That is proved 
by the fact that, although like circulars have 
been issued biennially for at least sixteen years, 
by Republican Congressional committees, and 
many persons have refused to respond to them, 
there has never been a single removal from of- 
fice or employment for that cause. It is not in 
your power, therefore, to put your finger upon 
a single fact, either of statement or result, which 
justifies your representation. Besides, you have 
had the "explicit denial of Senators and Repre- ' 
sentatives, members of that committee, of any 
purpose of threat or coercion. Notwithstand- j 
ing all these proofs, you persist in speaking of 
it as a "virtual threat." To say that this is 
deeply discreditable to you is to use mild Ian- 
guage. 

The other accusation is that the circular is an 
invitation to the commission of what is made a 
crime by section 6 of the act o # f the 13th of Au- 
gust, 1876. As a matter of law this is absurd. I 
There is no difficulty in the point, as your law- j 
yers will find out in due time, if they have not 
already. The law does not apply to members ' 
of Congress in any of its terms, but is confined 
in all its parts to executive officers and em- ! 
ployees. This its language shows, and all the 
circumstances surrounding it prove. Your 
construction involves the absurdity that mem- 
bers of Congress are executive officers, and the 
further absurdity that it is a crime for a man 
holding an office freely to contribute of his 
funds to a political committee. 

Of course, according to your notion, a simple 
citizen may so contribute of his funds as of 
right, but a citizen becominir an official loses 
the right to help the organization whose princi- 
ples he may approve, and whose policy he may 
deem essential to the prospc rity of the people. 
In orber words, undercover of protecting the 
official, you degrade him. 

You ask me to unite with you in starting an | 
experimental criminal prosecution against an 
officer or employee in New York for having com- 
plied with my request for aid to the Republican ; 
canvass. I will not do this for several reasons. 
It would be an act of dishonor in me to so turn 
upon any Republican official who thus con- i 
tributed. Besides, it is needless as a mem> of 
testing the sense of said section 6. In my opin- 
ion neither the Attorney -General of the United 
States nor the district attorneys require in- | 
st ruction either from you or myself as to the ; 
meaning of laws, or their duties in prosecutions 
for violation of them, and I therefore leave 
the subject with them, you having declined to 
unite in making a case against me as being the 
party equally responsible with any contributor. 
As for my myself. Mr. Curtis, it is only due to 
candor to say that as long as the records of Con- '< 
gress show throughout all the Gulf States the 
systematic use of tissue ballots for purposes of 
fraud, the systematic throwing out of ballots 
cast, and the insertion of ba'lots not cast, the 
systematic defeat of the exercise of the right of 
suffrage, and every conceivable violation of law 
for the purpose of thwarting the expression of • 
popular will, and so long as it be proved impos- 
sible to ha-e a fair election and an honest 
count iu any portion of this country, I propose 
to help maintain a Republican organization 
which shall be strong enough to prevent these 
outrages: or, when their commission cannot be 
prevented, to punish the criminals; and to that 
end I propose to ask all good citizens, office- 
holders or otherwise, to supply the Congres- 
sional Committee with the necessary means for 
smiting this crime against our common liberty, j 
To the extent that you, in the role you are now j 
playing, may succeed in crippling the opera- : 
ions of this Committee, you will become a most \ 
efficient ally of the Southern bull-dozer, and a 
most powerful promoter of their invidious and | 
des ructive methods. And there I leave you. 
Very respectfully yours, 

Jay A. Hubbell. 
Chairman Republican Congressional Committee. 

Mr. George William Curtis, 

New York City. 



Opinion of U. S. Attorney General as to 
the meaning of the Law of 1876 respec- 
ting- Political Assessments and Sec- 
retary Folger's L.etter to Mr. A* 
Thomas, of the Third Comptroller's 
Office— Members of Cong-res* are not 
Officers of the Government within the 
Meaning of the Ii«w — The Attorney- 
General Supports his Opinion by am- 
ple Authorities of the Highest char- 
acter--The Circular of the Repnbli- 
can Congressional Committee does 
not violate the Liaw— Secretary Fol- 
ger announces the Republican doc- 
trine, which is that of the Republican 
Congressional Committee, that all cit- 
izens believing in Republican Success 
as necessary to good government and 
the welfare of the Xation will contrib- 
ute, but all such contributions should 
be wholly voluntary. 

Treasury Department, 
Office of the Secretary, 

Washington, D. C, July 25, 1882. 
Mr. A. Thomas, 
Chief of a Division, Second Comptroller s Officer 
Sir : Your letter of inquiry of date 6th July, 
1882, reached me in due course, and had my con- 
sideration. Wishing to have the deliberate 
opinion of the law officer of the government on 
the point staged by you, and believing that that 
opinion would be more satisfactory to all than 
any view I might take of he subject, I referred 
your letter to the honorable the Attorney Gen- 
eral for his determination. I have to-day re- 
ceived the opinion of that official. The Attor- 
ney-General states the question to be: '-Whether 
a member of Congress i> an officer of the gov- 
ernment, within the meaning of section 6, of 
chapter 287, of the act 15th August, 1876." (Re- 
vised Statutes, sup. page 245.) That section is in 
these words : "All executive officers or em- 
ployees of the United States not appointed by 
the Presi lent, with the advice and consent of 
the Senate, are prohibited from requesting,, 
giving to, or receiving from, any other officer 
or e nployee of the government auy money or 
property, or other thing of value, for political 
purposes," &c. The Attorney-General reaches 
the conclusion that a member of Congress is not 
an officer of the government within the mean- 
ing of that section. And to sustain his view he 
cites Blount's case, wherein it was so held, and 
compares with this section, and with each other,, 
sections 28 and 30, 1756. 1781, 1782, 1786, 5150, 5451, 
5500, 5501, R. S. : 1st section and 4th sections 2d 
article; 6th section, 1st article; 13th section, 
14th article, United States Constitution ; section 
733, Story on Constitution; 2d, 3d and 6th sec- 
tions, act of February 26, 1853, chapte 81. 
The further conclusion follows: That execu- 
tive officers and employees of the United Sta es 
not appoin'edby the President, with the ad- 
vice and consent of the Senate, are not liable to 
the pains and penalties of section 6 of the act of 
August, 1876, for the act of giving to a member 
of Congress money, property, or other thing of 
value. "You are sue i an officer or employee, and 
the effect of the opinion of the Attorney-Gen- 
eral is that you may give to Chairman Hubbell, 
in compliance with his request, without run- 
ning foul of a penal statute. I might stop here, 
as the very question that you put is explicitly 
answered, and as you in your letter express a 
willinemess— nav, more a desire— to give as 
asked." But I will take this place to say that I 
wish it felt throughout the Treasury Depart- 
ment in all its ramifications of service that no 
servant of the United States therein need feel 
the slightest pressure upon him to give if he 
does not wish to give. If he has that belief in. 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



163 



tlie soundness of the principles of the Republi- 
can party as to desire their sustentatiou and 
success, and to be willing and desirous of show- | 
ina: his faith by his works, and feels that he is ' 
able to aid. let him give of his substance or of 
his income as he sees tit. Or if he is of the other 
political faith, or the claims of family or the 
needs of self pinch his purse, and he wishes not 
to give, let him freeK refrain therefrom. I 
would have him think and feel and do as if in 
the relituous meeting-house of his choice the 
preacher should lay before him the needs of 
some cause. If it was commended to his judg- 
ment and he felt able and willing to spare 
of his pelf, he would give. If it was otherwise 
he would hold fast that which was his own. So, 
absolutely so, in the matter in hand. let it be 
understood and felt by all who hold place under 
me that whieh ever way they take they may 
take it unmolested by me therefor. I say as I 
mean. I will do as I say. 
Very respectfully, 

CHAS. J. FOLGEE, 

Secretary. 

Botli Secretary Folger's letter and the 
opinion of the Attorney-General were 
read and considered in the Cabinet 
meeting. 

President Arthur in Cabinet Meeting 
gives his Judgment in the matter of 
Partisan contributions— No Govern- 
ment employee, declining to contrib- 
ute, shall be discharged or criticised 
for the Act— All shall be Wholly Free 
to contribute or not as they please — 
That the Doctrine of President Ar- 
thur's fetter of Acceptance — That the 
Doctrine, past and present, of the Re- 
publican Party and its Representa- 
tive Committees. 

The session of the Cabinet of July 25 j 
was an unusually long one. All the | 
members were present except Secretary ' 
of War Lincoln, and the question of j 
partisan contributions was pretty thor- ' 
oughly canvassed. President Arthur 
gave his judgment in the matter. He 
said in effect : 

"No person in any one of the execu- 
tive departments declining to contrib- | 
ute shall, on that account, be subjected j 
to discharge or criticism, and no attempt ! 
to injure him, on this ground, will be 
countenanced or tolerated." These con- 
clusions are in accordance with the 
views expressed by him in his letter of , 
acceptance of July 15, 1880, in which he 
says: "I will add that by the accept- 
ance of public office, Avhether high or 
low, one does not, in my Judgment, es- 
cape any of his responsibilities as a cit- ; 
izen, or lose or impair an}- of his rights 
as a citizen, and that he should enjoy 
absolute liberty to think and speak and 
act in political matters according to his 
own will and conscience, provided only 
that he honorably and faithfully dis- 
charge all his official duties." 

In these utterances the Pr sident an- 
nounces the doctrine, past and present, 
of the Republican party— the doctrine 
of the Republican Congressional Com- 
mittee. 



General OarGeld favored Contribu- 
tions for Partisan Purposes— His 
.Letter to Chairman Hubbell during 
last Presidential Election asking how 
are the Departments generally doing. 

General James A. Garfield is often 
quoted by the so-called Civil-Service 
Reformers as opposed to or reprobating 
political contributions for partisan pur- 
poses. The quotation is a character- 
istic fraud of the bogus reformer. To 
arbitrary or compulsory assessments 
General Garfield was no doubt opposed, 
as are Jay A. Hubbell and D. B. Hender- 
son — as indeed are all Republicans. 
But the General was too sensible a man, 
too experienced, practical, and just, to 
oppose or reprobate voluntary contri- 
butions, or requests from responsible 
organs of the party for contributions, 
in support of the cause he himself so 
ably sustained. Were there any doubt 
in the matter the following letter from 
General Garfield during the late Presi- 
dential election, when he was himself a 
candidate, would authoritatively settle 
it: 

Mextor, Ohio, Augitst 23, 18S0. 
My Dear Hubbell: 

Yours of the 19th instant is received. Please 
say to Brady I hope he will give us all the as- 
sistance possible. I think he can help effect- 
ively. Please tell nie how the departments are 
generally doing. 

As ever yours, 

J. A. GARFIELD. 
Hon. Jay A. Hubbell, Chairman Republican 
Congressional Committee, Washington, D. C. 



PART VII. 

Origin of Political Assess- 
ments — They have their 
Rise in the Corrnpt Party 
Practices of the Demo- 
crat ic Party. 

Gen. Andrew Jackson in 1829 inaugu- 
rated as the President of Democratic 
Retrenchment and Reform— A Reform- 
er of the Geo. Win. Curtis type— Cor- 
ruptions under his Reign— Origin 
here of Political Assessments— Speak- 
er Jas. K. Polk Packs Committees 
against Investigation— The Harlan 
House Committee— Its exposure of 
the Practice of Partisan assessments 
by Democratic Party from 1829 to 
1839— The disgraceful Record. 

On March 4, 1829, Gen. Andrew Jack- 
son, of Tennessee, who had been elect- 
ed as the candidate of Retrenchment 
and Reform, was inaugurated as Presi- 
dent of the United States. Here was 
the birth of the modern Democratic 
party. Jackson was as pronounced a 



104 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



Reformer as Geo. Wm. Curtis or "Gen- 
tleman George" Pendleton. If or years 
previous ' 'Retrenchment and Reform" 
had been his inspiriting slogan and 
that of his partisans. But hardly 
had lie been inducted into office, when 
a hungry swarm of personal partisans 
violently claimed possession of all pub- 
lic offices under the maxim that "to 
the victors belong the spoils." Now 
began practices unknown before in the 
history of our parties. Among these 
was that of arbitrary and compulsory 
assessments of government employees 
of all grades or salaries for partisan 
purposes. They cannot be traced to a 
prior period in our national politics. 
They soon became an organic part of 
the Democratic party and were relent- 
lessly enforced both at State and 
national elections with a tyrant's hand. 
The corruptions of Jackson's Reforms 
soon became notorious. The press and 
people clamored for investigation, but 
that was resisted in both Houses of 
Congress by the indignant leaders of 
the Reform Democracy, whose speeches 
or Reiorm screeds are evidently the 
models of those of Pendleton and Cur- 
tis. After three years of efforts in the 
Senate, the elder Thomas Ewing suc- 
ceeded in getting an investigation in 
1834 into the corruptions of the Post 
Office. The developments startled the 
country. Reform, it was thought, was 
hardly the proper word to do justice to 
the facts. In the House all real investiga- 
tion was practically defeated by the 
packing of the committees by Speaker 
James K. Polk. 

In January, 1839, the House, although 
controlled by an administration major- 
ity, resolved to take the appointment of 
a committee to investigate these cor- 
ruptions into its own hands and thus 
elected a special committee of nine with 
Hon. James Harlan, of Kentucky, as 
chairman, with instructions to inquire 
into the alleged corruptions of the civil 
service. Now, the developments were 
astounding. 

Among the corruptions, ramified 
throughout all the departments of the 
National Government, was that of 
partisan assessments tyrannically en- 
forced as tests of party fealty. 

Mr. Harlan, in his report, in introduc- 
ing the testimony on that subject, says: 

The system of a regular taxation of public of- 
ficers connected with and deriving - patronage 
from the custom-house at New York, by a tariff 
proportioned to such putronage in each case, for 
the support- of party elections is now alluded to. 
— (H ltep. 313, February 27, 1859, Twenty- fifth Con- 
gress, First Session, pages 249, 250.) 

He then gives the testimony in the 
case : 
. David S. Lyon was sworn — 

I was the first deputy collector of the port of 
New York during the whole time Samuel Swart- 



wout was collector. I have frequently been 
called upon to contribute to political objects 
while I was deputy collector, as an officer of the 
custom-house. The amount was from $20 to $100. 
The tax was pro rata, according to salary. It 
bore a proportion from one to six per cent. I fre- 
quently paid a part of the amount. When it 
was too high, and more than I could afford, I 
urged them to reduce it. In one instance, when 
I was assessed $20, Mr. Swartwout told the col- 
lector of the tax that $10 was enough for me to 
pay. For a few years back I have not paid any- 
thing to the general committi e, because I could 
not afford to pay the amount assessed. * * * * 
The collectors of the Tammany Hall general 
committee, one of whom was John Becker, 
called on me several times. William Tyack 
once or twice called on me to collect the amount 
with which I was assessed. He was not the 
regular collector, but was one of the general 
committee. I believe that nc arly all the officers 
of the custoni-nouse, indoors and out, and the 
clerks, were similarly taxed, and generally paid 
what they were assessed. It was assessed by 
the general committee of Tammany Hull, ard 
for the support of the party denominated the 
Tammany Hall party. If the individual did not 
pay the amount he was taxed with, the collec- 
tor would remark: "You will be reported to 
general committee;" and everybody well un- 
derstood that proscription would follow. The 
collector of the general committee has an alpha- 
betical book, which contains the names of per- 
sons, and the amount each individual is re- 
quired to pay.— (H. Rep., 313 Twenty-fifth Cong., 
Third session, pages 250. 251.) 

Arent S. DePeyster sworn: 

The weighers were called on to pay fifteen 
dollars each for the support of the eh ction, and 
when I declined, Mr. Vanderpool, the deputy 
surveyor, observed that I ought to consider 
whether my $1,500 per annum was not worth pay- 
ing $15 for. Under the impression that it was 
the price of my situation, I paid it. The above 
occurred during the last spring election for 
charter officers.— {Ibid) 

Abraham B. Vanderpool, an appraiser 
of customs in New York, at $2,000 a 
year, was also sworn by the committee. 
In reply to the inquiry of Mr. Wise as 
to whether the officers of the custom- 
house had been assessed for political cr 
party purposes, he began his answer 
with: " I have known officers attached 
to the custom-house to he called on for" — 
when Mr. Owens, a Democratic mem- 
ber of the committee, interposed and 
informed the witness that he was not 
bound to answer any questions relating 
to his private affairs, and Mr. Foster, 
another Democratic member of the 
committee, objected to the question. 

The committee decided that the ques- 
tion should be propounded, when the 
witness declined to answer and was al- 
lowed to retire. 

John Becker was also sworn as a 
witness. He said : 

"I have been collector for the Democratic-Re' 
publican party in this (New York) city. It is 
not an official appointment. * * * * All the 
collections I ever made for the Democratic-Re- 
publican party were strictly confidential. I 
therefore respectfully decline answering the 
question." " When asked whose confidence he 
would \ iolate by answering the question, he 
replied: Ihe confidence of the fii tance committee 
of the general Democratic-Repubi pan committee." 
—(Ibid, p. 251.) 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



105 



Tlie Poindexter Commission in 1841 in. 
quires into the condition of New 
York Custom-House- Its exposure of 
partisan assessments under Van Bu- 
ren — " All you Damned Sons of 
Bitches that don't pay up will he sor- 
ry for it **— •• Ciod damn you, I'll re- 
member you for it '*— 4 * To the Victors 
belong the Spoils " — Partisan as- 
sessments a vital part of the Reform 
Democratic Organism. 

At the next Presidential election in ' 
1840, Van Buren, Jackson's successor, ; 
was ejected by the people from the Presi- 
dency. In March, 1841, General Win. i 
Henry Harrison entered upon the duties 
of the Chief Magistracy, and a com- 
mission, with Hon. Geo. Poiudexter, an ; 
ex-Senator from Mississippi, was ap- j 
pointed by the President to inquire in- | 
into the condition of the custom-house 
at New York. 

Peter Field, one of Collector Hoyt's 
inspectors of customs, testified on oath 
before the commissioners that Tam- 
many Hall assessed every officer of the 
customs a tax for electionering expen- 
ses. One time he (Field) would not pay 
—on which Egbert G. Sweet, also an 
inspector of customs and collector of 
Tammany's assessments, said to him : 
"You will be sorry for this" — went to 
a book, tore out a list of the inspectors, 
etc., saying: "All you damned sons of 
bitches that don't pay up will be sorry 
for it. God damn you, I will remember 
you for it." 

Soon after this Field was put out. 

This Sweet was subsequently ex- 
amined and at once admitted that he 
had collected these assessments, that 
he had been absent several days in 
succession from his duties in the Cus- 
tom House electioneering, and that these 
assessments went into the fund of the 
Tammany Hall Committee. These orig- 
inal Democrats, the "un defiled and 
unterrified," did not hesitate, one and 
all, to declare in the language of Gov- 
ernor Marcy, that "they saw nothing 
wrong in the maxim that to the victors 
belong the spoils of the enemy." 

These arbitrary and compulsory as- 
sessment for partisan purposes had, in 
fact, now become a vital part of the 
reform Democratic organism. Their pay- 
ment was made the test of party fealty. 
To rebel against them was treason to 
party, and was instantly and inexorably 
followed by decapitation. " Off with 
his head." 



PART VIII. 

The Covode Investigation 
in I860 — It Covers tbe 



Period from 1853 to I860 
— Its Exposure Amid the 
Corruptions of Pierce's 
and Ruehanan's Admin- 
istration of Partisan As- 
sessments as a Cardinal 
Feature of the Democrat- 
ic Organization — Presi- 
dent Buchanan and Gov- 
ernor Hendricks Superin- 
tend the collections. 

Isaac West, of Custom - House, at Phil- 
adelphia, Testifies— Two Assessments 
f»r National and State Elections in 
Same Year— $40 Assessed on Salary of 
§1,093— Paid under Belief that Remov- 
al would follow Refusal— Assessments 
Paid More Promptly than Other 
Debts. 

Tn 1S60, the Covode investigation cov- 
ered the period from 1853, the date of 
inauguration of Frank Pierce, up to the 
close of Buchanan's reign. Among the 
appalling corruptions exposed, that of 
compulsory partisan assessments of 
Government employees was not the 
least. The evidence is very full, and to 
the point. 

Isaac West, an inspector for five years 
in the cu-tom-house at Philadelphia, 
was sworn. He said: 

Q. Were you there at the time of the election of 
1856, when Mr. Buchanan was elected 1 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. What do you know about moneys being 
raised off the employees of the custom-house on 
that occasion ? 

A. There was a certain lax levied upon the per- 
sons connected with the custom-house. 

Q. What amount on each person ? 

A. A certain percentage. On a person receiv- 
ing $1,095 a year I think the tax for the Presiden- 
tial election was from $30 to $33. 

Q. Do you mean for the Presidential election 
alone, or for both Presidential and Congress- 
ional elections ? 

A. I mean the Presidential election alone. 

Q. What about the other election 1 

A. The amount was not so great for the State 
election. 

Q. How much was that ? 

A. That I do not recollect. It strikes me that 
it teas from $5 to $7, something like that. 

Q. The tico then, would amount to in the 
neighborhood of $40 ? 

A. Tes, sir; in that neighborhood. 

Q. Upon what salaried officers was thatl 

A. Those of $1,100 or rather $1,095 a year 

Q. Were the others assessed in proportion to 
their salaries ? 

A. Tes, sir. 

Q. To whom was the money paid 1 

A. It was generally deposited. That portion 
which I collected in nay department / gave to 
the deputy collector, 2Ir. Harbeson. I believe he 
was the treasurer, so far as the custom-house 
was concerned, and he paid it over to the ex- 
ecutive committee, I believe. 

Q. A political committee ? 

A. Tes, sir. 

Q. Did all the employees pay 1 



106 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



A. I never knew one to refuse. 

Q. What was the impression — that it was 
rather obligatory upon them to pay ? 

A. That seemed to he the impression ; they all 
felt it their duly to pay that more promptly than 
some of their debts; that was the impression, 
hut I do not know about whether they would 
have heeu removed if they had not paid, hut it 
was considered obligatory, I believe. 

Joseph M. Lncas, a Clerk in General 
Land Office, Sworn— Assessments Pro 
Rata upon Salaries— From Two-and-a 
Malf to Five Per Cent— The Disburs- 
ing' Officers of Departments the C ol- 
leetors of the Assessments— Govern- 
ment Furnished the Stationery— As- 
sessments Paid to Buy Peace — To Avoid 
Proscription. 

Joseph M. Lucas, also a clerk in the 
General Land Office, was sworn : 

Q. Will you tell us all you know about the col- 
lecting and raising of money there for political 
purposes ? 

A. I can give all the information I have, prob- 
ably in a very few words. Whilst I was a clerk 
in that Department levies were made upon va- 
rious occasions upon the clerks for funds, and 
on every occasion I dissented. It was against 
nry feelings and principles. They did not come 
on all occasions to me ; but the last occasion to 
which I took exception was one on which they 
wanted to raise a fund of eight or nine thousand 
dollars in the various Departments. That, how- 
ever, I do not know, but such was the statement 
made to me. 

By Mr. Winslow : 

Q. Say nothing about statements or hearsay, 
if you please. 

A. The list of the clerks was made out, their 
names in one column, their salaries in another, 
and the percentage levied in another column. 
This list they presented to me and five others 
in the room, all of whom paid but myself. I 
looked at the list and asked the two gentlemen 
who brought it who sent them to me. They 
said they were not going to answer me any 
questions, but asked me if I would pay. I told 
them "No;" and that is pretty much the sub- 
stance of all the information I have. They 
went, as I saw, in the different rooms I hap- 
pened to have business in, to the different 
clerks, and presented this list to them, and they 
paid their pro rata assessment. The informa- 
tion that we received was that it was to raise a 
fund to pay off a debt that had been contracted 
in Pennsylvania, which they expected to have 
raised out of Congress, but it adjourned with- 
out raising this amount, and they had to raise it 
in another way. 

By the Chairman : 

Q. Who carried that list into your room? 

A. The persons who carried the list around 
for the pot-tioii of the office in which I was were 
Mr. Cramer and a Mr. Slocumb who hails from 
Mississippi, but is recognized probably as an 
Indianian. They brought the list around and 
there were four or five other clerks in the room 
beside myself. I refused to subscribe. My 
friends all told me that I had better subscribe, 
but I told them that I could not with my view 
of the case, and I denounced it in the public- 
prints. 

By Mr. Olin : 

Q. Do you recollect about what percentage 
was upon the salaries? 

A. I do not, exactly ; I think it was between 
21 and 5 per cent. 



By the Chairman : 

Q. You say that it was an assessment, and 
that you refused to subscribe ? 

A. It was a regular assessment. It was upon 
paper that I recognized as coining from a cer- 
tain office. The names, the salaries, and the 
amounts to be paid were all put down. 

By Mr. Train: 

Q. Where did the paper come from ? 

A. From the Department of the Interior. It 
was the same kind of paper as the pay-clerk 
uses. On a previous occasion an assessment 
was made in the middle of the month, when the 
clerks had no money, and the amounts were af- 
terward deducted from their pay by the pay- 
clerk. 

By the Chairman : 

Q. Was that an assessment or a subscription ? 

A. I will not be certain whether it was an as- 
sessment or a subscription. At all events the 
money was deducted from the pay of the clerks 
by the pay-clerk. 

By Mr. Robinson : 

Q. When was that first assessment that you. 
speak of ? 

A. I cannot be certain as to the exact time. 
It was during the struggle between Douglas and. 
Lincoln. 

Q. When was the last assessment made ? 

A. About two years ago, I think ; somewhere 
about that time; I cannot fix the date pre- 
cisely. 

Q. There was none of that fund raised to help 
Douglas, I suppose ? 

A. "No, sir; I think not. I know the Demo- 
ocrats as well as the others in the office de- 
nounced the matter, but yet paid. I know a 
great many of them denounced the principle, 
but they paid to buy peace, as they said. 

Q. Were you for Douglas ? 

A. No, sir; I was for Lincoln. I was a Whig T 
and had never voted for a Democrat in my life, 
I think. 

Q. When did you leave the office ? 

A. It will be two years in September next. 

Q. Did you resign, or were you discharged? 

A. I resigned, because I believed I would be 
removed. 

J. L. Cramer, Clerk in General Land 
Office, Sworn — A Collector of Parti- 
san Assessments— Two Assessments in. 
Same Year— Thos. W. Hendricks, Com- 
missioner of General Land Office, and 
in 1876 Democratic Candidate for 
Vice-President, Bosses the Job in the 
Land Office. 

J. L. Cramer, a clerk in the General 
Land Office, was sworn: 

Q. Do you know of any asssessments made 
upon the clerks or employees there for political 
purposes ? 

A. / have asked the gentlemen— a portion of 
them— to contribute for that purpose. 

Q. You asked them yourself ? 

A. Yes, sir. 

Q. How was that contribution made ; was it a 
certain percentage on the salary? 

A. In one instance it was; a small per cent, 
was asked of the gentlemen. 

Q. In what year was that ? 

A. My impression is that it was in the year 
1856. 

Q. Did you collect it that year ? 

A. I called on some of the gentlemen. 

Q. In what way was that list made ? Describe 
how it was prepared, whether with the naiuea 
and the salaries, and percentage that was as- 
sessed, or how was it ? 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



107 



A. So far as my recollection serves rue, I am j 
not aware that I had a list. I think I had a mem- ! 
orandum book, in wliich I put down the names ! 
of such gentlemen a* contributed, knowing their \ 
salary and what proportion it would be. That \ 
is my recollection of the matter 

Q.Did you collect in 1858? 

A. I collected on two occasions; it strikes me ! 
that one was in 1S5C. and the other was in 1858. | 

Q. Do you know for what State, or for what J 
purpose, that money was collected cither in i 
1856 or 1858 ? ! 

A. I think the money in 1836 teas collected to be j 
appropriated to pay some balance to be supplied : 
in Pennsylvania, if I remember right, the Dem- 
ocratic State commit 'tee hid got into debt quite a 
sum of money. ;tnd it was with a view of liqui- 
dating that debt that the money was raised. It j 
was just after the October election, I think, there , 
was another collection to pay for some documents 
th t had been printed to be distributed. 

Q. Were not there two assessments made that 
year— one before the election, and another af- 
terward, to make up a deficiency? 

A. That is what I spoke of. I think one was 
before the election, and another to make up ] 
a deficiency . I was under the impression that j 
the deficiency was the only one I had anything 
to do with. 

Q. That one you collected ? 

A. Yes, sir 

Q. Do you know at whose request that asesss- 
ment v as made to make up the deficiency in 
Pennsylvania? 

A. I do not. I understood 

Mr. Winslow, a Democratic member, (to wit- 
ness:) Don't state what you understood; state 
what you know, if you please. 

The Witness. I do not know. 

By the Chairman: 

Q. By whose authority was it done? Who was 
it that requested or directed vou to perform | 
this duty ? 

A. I took the paper around at the request of the i 
Commissioner of the General Land Office 

Q. Was it the assessment before or after the : 
election that you collected? 

A. I think it was after the October election, but 
I may be mistaken about that. I am not posi- j 
tive whether it was after that election or after 
the Presidential election. 

Q. Do you know the total amount of that Penn- 
sylvania deficiency to be raised? 

A. I do not know only from what I heard; I 
have no other means of knowing. 

Q. What was the amount you heard ? 

Mr Winslow. I object to the witness answer- 
ing that question. 

By the Chairman : 

Q. Who told you what amount was to be raised ? ■ 
A. I think it was the Commissioner, Hon. T. 
W. Hendricks. 

Hon. Tkos. W. Hendricks, the candi- 
date, in 1876, for the Vice- Presidency on 
the Tilden ticket, and who is to-day, as 
lie was in 1876, a prominent candidate 
for the Democratic nomination for the 
Presidency. 

Stephen G. Dotlg-e, a Clerk, in Pension 
Office, Sworn— Clerics in Pension Of- 
fice Assessed — Assessments Paid on 
Principle of Liife Insurance— To In- 
sure Retention in Office — Details of 
the Job which is Bossed by Commis- 
sioner of Pensions Whiting. 

Stephen G. Dodge, a clerk in the Pen- 
sion Office, who was removed on the 
ground of political unsoundnesss : 



By the Chairman: 

Q. State what you know about a paper that 
was handed around relative to raising money 
to meet a deficiency of the Keystone Club, and 
the manner in which that money was paid or to 
be paid. 

A. Iu the spring of 1858 

Q. Was it the spring or summer ? 

A. In the spring or summer of 1858, or some 
time in 1858, a paper was presented to me for 
signature, head d as near as I can re ollect, in 
these words : 

"The undersigned request the disbursing 
clerk of the Department of the Interior to re- 
tain out of our salaries for the current month 
the sums set opposite to our respective names." 

Q. In whose handwriting was that paper 
dr «wn ? 

A. It was apparently in the handwriting of 
the Commissioner of Pensions. 

By Mr. Winslow : 

Q. The present Commissioner, Mr. Whiting? 

A. Yes. sir ; the subscription was headed with 
the name of the Commissioner with the sum of 
$10. 

By the Chairman : 

Q. Did you know it to be his handwriting ? 

A. I say it was apparently in his handwriting. 
He has clerks in his office who frank his name,. 
and whose handwriting is almost exactly like 
his. I could scarcely distinguish between their 
writing and his. It was apparently in his hand- 
writing. 

By Mr. Robinson : 

Q. Go on and state what else you know about 
it. What other names were to the paper ? 

A. The name of the chief clerk, who I think 
was absent, was also down for the sum of $10, 1 
think. 

By the Chairman : 

Q. In whose handwriting ? 

A. I think that was in the handwriting of the 
Commissioner; I think that Mr. Boyingtou's 
name was also down, and the best of iny recol- 
lection is that he also contributed $10; I was- 
asked to sign the paper, but objected to doing 
so, on the ground that I had already con- 
tributed $25 to the funds of the Indiana Club for 
the purpose of circulating the same kind of 
documents ; but being advised by some friends 
that it would be better to make the contribu- 
tion, I did so; and in a conversation with the 
Commissioner of Pensions himself, I said to 
him that I had done it upon the principle of life 
insurance — to insure my office to me. 

By Mr. Robinson : 

Q. What reply to that remark of yours did he 
make? 

A. I do not remember of his making any an- 
swer; I presume he had acted upon the same 
principle that I had ; that is only my presump- 
tion, however. 

It will be noticed that in these arbi- 
trary partisan assessments by the De- 
mocracy, the disbursing officers of the 
Government were made the collectors 
of tlie party tax. 

And so on through all the depart- 
ments and throughout all the ramifica- 
tions of the Government in all parts of 
the nation. As high as three assess- 
ments were made in the same year — one 
of them to support the newspaper organ 
at Washington, the Constitution, amid 
such broad-cast and notorious corrup- 
tion as to cause Roger A. Pryor, a stal- 
wart southern Democratic member of 
the House, to cry out in very shame : 

" From the by-ways and highways of 
the Government the rottenness of cor- 



108 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



ruption sends forth an insufferable 
stench. Why are the people so patient 1 
Why slumber the indignation of the De- 
mocracy V' 



PART IX. 

Further Proofs front the 
Unpublished Records of 
the Department of the In- 
terior of the manner in 
which these partisan As- 
sessments were made and 
collected under Presi- 
dents Pierce and Buch- 
anan by the Democratic 
Party. 

S. D. Mills appointed to assess Exam- 
iners of Patent Office— He fulfills bis 
duty with characteristic Democratic 
Zeal— He reports a true Statement o 
Facts to the President — " J. B. " in- 
dorses report to the Secretary of the 
Interior— Out of 26 Examiners only 14 
"pony up'*— Refusal to pay on ground 
of being no Politicians— Quakers- Ap- 
pointed and rely upon their Scientific 
attainments. 

Let us now give, from a batch before 
us of original papers, parts of the old 
files of the Interior Department under 
Pierce and Buchanan hitherto unpub- 
lished, a few in proof of the extent and 
compulsory character of these partisan 
assessments. 

The following is an illuminated docu- 
ment: 

U. S. Patent Office, 

April 29, 1857. 

Sik: Sometime before the first election in 
Pennsylvania last fall, I was called upon to wait 
upon the examiuers of this office to solicit con- 
tributions to be expended in behalf of the Dem- 
ocratic party in that State, and the following is 
a true statement of facts connected with my in- 
terview with them. 

L. D. Gale— T have no money ; I never attended 
a political meeting in my life. 

J. H.Lane — I stand on scientific principles; I 
am no politician. 

H. Baldwin— I will not give anything for such 
purposes. 

G. C. Schaeffer— Refuses to give upon the ground 
that he takes no part in political affairs. 

T. R. Peale— Refuses to give upon the ground 
that he takes no part in political affairs. 

T. T. Everett— Has contributed $50 to N. Y. 
Club, and sent what money he could spare 
t o doubtf i 1 districts in N. Y , and will give 
give $50 (paid in my presence) to Pennsylva- 
nia Club if wished by Pennsylvanians. 

J. M. Henry — Refuses to give one cent. 

A. Herbert — Refuses to give anything; is op- 
posed to the principle. 

De Witt C. Lawrence— $50, contributed to Penn- 
sylvania Club, $50 to Pa. campaign, $25 to 
Mich. Club. 



T. H. Dodge— Out of city. (Pd. $20 subse- 
quently. 

A. B. Little— Out of city. (Pd. $20 subse- 
quently.) 

E. Foreman— Has given $25 to Md. Club, and $10 
to Pa. 

D. Breed— Refuses to give anything for any 
electioneering purposes ; he is a Quaker and 
stands on scientific principles. 

C. B. Moss— For Pa. Club $10 ; would give more 
if he had it to spare ; subscribes purely as a 
Democratic partisan. 

J. Van Santvord— Refuses to give anything. 

J. Tyssowski— $10 to Pa. 

H. P. K. Peck— $10 to Pa.; have contributed a 
small sum to Ohio Club. 

M. Bull— Has given $10 to Pa. 

W. B, Taylor— Have subscribed $15 to Pa. Club. 

Wm. Read — Have just subscribed $2.50 into Ky. 
Club for sending documents to that State, 
and am at present out of funds, or I would 
subscribe. 

A. T. Jenks— $25 to Pa. Club, $10 for Pa. at pres- 
ent; ($20 subsequently.) 

J. D. Toll— $25 to Mich. Club , and considerably 
otherwise purchasing and sending off docu- 
ments. 

J. H. Adams— Has subscribed $10 to Pa. 

S. E. Cowes— $25 to N. H. Club. 

E. Shaw— $10 to Pa. 

French— Was not appointed on political princi- 
ples. 

Re pectf ully submitted, < 

S. D. MILLS. 

The report relating to the Patent Of- 
fice employees has the following in- 
dorsement : 

"S. D. Mills, 

Of the Patent Office, April 29, 1857 : 

Before *he first election in Pennsylvania last 
fall, he waited upon the examiners of the bu- 
reau to solicit subscriptions in behalf of the 
Democratic paty in that State, and gives a 
statement of his interviews with each. 

Out of the 26 but 14 subscribed ; the others 
absolutely refusing, or giving some lame ex- 
cuse. One of the subscribers gave $2.50." 

Then follows, in a different handwrit- 
ing, the following: 

"Referred to the Secretary of the Interior. J. 



"J. B." — that is, James Buchanan, 
the President of the United States. 
That shows that the report was made 
to President Buchanan; that lie received 
and approved and sent it to the Secre- 
tary of the Interior. He thus indorsed 
the practice of partisan assessments on 
the salaries of government employees, 
and bjr sending the report to their offi- 
cial superior indicated his judgment 
that the delinquent or recusant exam- 
iners should be decapitated. 

Report of the New York Democratic As- 
sociation at Washington, D.C., respect- 
ing partisan assessments —last of de- 
linquents in the Bureaus of the In- 
terior Department — lAst of those in 
Post Office Department— Ratio of As- 
sessment— Causes Assigned for Failure 
— Iiist of those indifferent— L.ist of those 
who exhibited Praiseworthy devotion 
to Democratic Cause by promptly 
" Ponying up" — Order of Association 
to file Report with Secretary of the 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



109 



Interior and Postmaster-General— In- 
dorsement of Department on Report. 

Like the foregoing, the following is a 
strongly illuminated paper : 

Extract from a Report made by the Committee in 
pursuance of a resolution adopted by the yen- 
York, Democratic Association of Washington 
City, on the nth November, 185G. instructing it 
to collect information regarding payments by 
Neic Yorkers 'ui office in Washington: and who 
failed or declined to act icith said Association 
in aid of the Democratic cause. 

INTERIOR DEPARTMENT. 

Simeon Smith, clerk — "was a so-called " Republi- 
can ;" and failed to respond to the call of 
the Assn. 

GENKRAL LAND OFFICE. 

C. Walbridge, clerk— failed to respond to the 
call of the Assn. ; and so far as we can learn 
paid nothing for our cause. 

D. McCarty, clerk — failed to respond to our 
call, until assessed elsewhere ; when he paid 
our Treasurer $15 on the day of Pennsylva- 
nia election. 

Richard Kelly, clerk at $1,400 per anuum — failed 
to respond to our call; but. late in the can- 
vass, handed our Treasurer $-2.50. 

M. J. Bacon, clerk — subscribed $2.50 per month, 
or $12.50. but failed to pay anything; his 
name was stricken from the list of members 
of the Association by resolution. 

PATENT OFFICE. 

L. D. Gale, examiner — declined to aid the Dem- 
ocratic cause, saying he would not interfere 
in pontics. 

Daniel Breed, asst. exr. — refused to give 
anything to the Democratic cause, 
stating that he held his office in virtue of 
his scientific attainments ; he is a so-called 
"Republican." 

J. Van Santvord, asst. examur. — stated, in re- 
sponse to an assessment from another quar- 
ter, that he was opposed to the principle of 
giving to sustain the Democratic cause, and 
failed to respond to our call ; he was a so- 
called "Republican." 

F. W. Ritter, clerfc at 81,600 per ann. — sub- 
scribed $1 per month, or $5. but paid only 
one-half of that amount, and did no service. 

W. W. Turner, Librarian— is a so-called "Repub- 
lican" foreigner, and refused to aid the Dem- 
ocratic cause ; he did not respond to our 
call. 

Jas. S. Ewbank, clerk — failed to respond to our 
call, and we arc informed does not claim 
sympathy with the Democratic cause. 

PENSION OFFICE. 

Samuel Cole. Chief Clerk— failed to respond to 
our call, and kept aloof from the Canvass 
until late, when he paid, involuntarily, else- 
where about $20. 

As the following named New Yorkers, judging 
by their couduc'. appear to hare been indiffer- 
ent to the Democratic cause during the Can fass. 
it is deemed proper to give the following facts 
concerning them. 

PATENT OFFICE. 

D. I. Browne, Agricultural Division— kept aloof, 
without responding to our call, until the 
State election in Pennsylvania; after that he 
sent to our Treasurer $30. 

GENERAL LAND OFFICE. 

Silas W. Gillett, Clerk— failed to pay anything, 
and did nothing in favor of our cause that 
came to the knowledge of the Association. 



L. Kendig, Clerk in Pension Office— sub- 
scribed $10. but only paid $2; he received 
$1,400 pr. ann. ; came to our room several 
times, but was entirely inefficient. 

Names of persons, members of the New York 
Democratic Association, and others, hailing 
from New York, who exhibited proper and 
praiseworthy devotion to the cause of the De- 
mocracy during the Canvass 0/1856. 

EXTRACT. 
LNTERIOR DEPARTMENT. 

P. Lammond, elk.— contribution of money and 
personal effort. 

OFFICE OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 

Charles Y. Ioline. clerk— contribution of money 

and personal effort. 
I. Bartow (since resigned) — contribution of 

money and personal effort. 
H. R.Schoolcraft (on Statistics) — contribution of 

money and personal effort. 

GENERAL LAND OFFICE. 

I. N. Granger, Recorder — contribution of 

money. 
S. Brintwall, clerk— contribution of money and 

personal effort. 
C. C. Leeds, clerk — contribution of money and 

personal effort. 
I. L. Cramer, clerk— contribution of money and 

personal effort. 
! N. B. Smith, (late Pay Gen'l Off.)— contribution 

of money and personal effort. 
G. H. Gurley, clerk — contribution of money and 

personal effort. 
I. B. Hunt, clerk — contribution of money and 

personal effort. 

PATENT OFFICE. 

T. T. Everitt, Examr.— contribution of money. 
A. M. Smith, clerk— contribution of money and 
personal effort. 

PENSION OFFICE. 

Wm. B. Malcom— contribution of money and 

personal effort. 
j A. G. Fowler — contribution of money and per- 
sonal effort. 

Elias Marsh— contribution of money and per 
sonal effort. 

March 24, 1857. On motion, ordered, that the 
report of the Committee be accepted, and a 
copy of the same be forwarded to Hon. John 
Kelly and Hon. I. B. Haskins. together with 
lists of other dehnquents, and such persons re- 
sitting in Washington, as aided the Association 
with labors and contributions, with the request 
[ that so much thereof be presented by them to 
each of the Secretaries audthe P. M. General as 
relates to their respective departments. 

By order of X. Y. Democratic Association, 
N. B. SMITH. 
CHS. O. Joiine, President. 

Recording Secretary. 

This report of the committee of the 
| New York Democratic Association has 
the following endorsement : 

Interior Department. Report ef a committee 
! of the New York Democratic Association giv- 
; ing names of clerks in he Interior Department 
I wiio refused to contribute for Democratic pur- 
■ poses, and also of those who thus contributed. 

j Pennsylvania Democracy active parti- 
sans of Political Assessments- Re- 
port of Pennsylvania B. & B. Club un- 

I der instructions of Club— List of Penn- 



110 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



sylvanians who refused the "Spondu- j 
lix." 

I 
The Pennsylvania^ were also active 
partisans of political assessments. These I 
Democratic patriots, like their confreres I 
of New York and other States the sup- 
porters of Lecompton,andthe violent and' 
bloody border ruffian rule in Kansas, 
believed that all who refused to con- 
tribute to the fund for the maintenance I 
of that rule, should be summarily guil- I 
lotined. The following is the report of I 
their club in the matter : 

[Copy.] 

Penn'a B. & B. Club Boom, 
Washington City, D. C, Nov. 12, 1856. 
In obedience to a resolution of the club, j 
passed Aug. 6. 1856, calling on the Secretary for i 
a report of the number of persons in office from 
Pennsylvania, who refused to connect them- 
selves with our organization, I herewith report 
the following named gentlemen, as having re- 
fused to aid us, either with their money or their 
presence : 

1. Francis Marhoe, State Dept $1,800 

2. A. H. Derrick, " " 1,600 

3. John P. Polk, " " 1.600 

4. S. M. McKean, Treasury Dept 2,000 

5. James M. Bamsey, " " 2,000 

6. W. M. Gongs, " " 1,600 

7. John B. Sullivan, " " 1,600 

8. B. W. Keyser, " " 1,400 

9. J. B. Oliver, " " (Re- 
moved May 29, 1858) " " 1,400 

10. Brooke Mackall, " " 1,400 

11. C. M. Harris, " " ,. 1,400 

12. W. L. Waller, " " 1.400 

13. A. Gr Marshman, " " (Re- 
moved Nov. 13, 1857) " " .' 1,200 

14. J. C. Kietchman, " " 1,200 

15. J. B. Peale, Interior Dept 2,500 

16. G-. P. Howell, " " 1,400 

17. Thos. H.Baird, " " (Re- 
moved Feb'y 3, 1858) 1,200 

18. Archibald Campbell, War Dept 2,200 

19. W. P. Young, P. O. Dept 1,600 

20. C. K. Still wagon, Navy Dept 1,400 

Respectfully submitted to the club, 

THOS. J. McCAMONT, 
Rec. Sec'y. 

21. Note. — To above may be added Alexander 
Hood, who refused to give until after Octo- 
ber election. 



Hon. ». A. Smalley of Vermont to Secre- 
tary of the Interior — Demands Re- 
moval of J. H. Lane because lie refused 
to pay Assessments — Payment of As- 
sessments a test of Democracy— Re- 
fusal to pay Crood Ground for Remo- 
val—James Lake Henry, an indignant 
Democrat Charged with infidelity to 
Party— A Slaveholder and Cordial 
Hater of Black Republicans— He not 
only Contributed, but when an offi- 
cer of the Army, Marched his two 
Companies of Regulars to the Polls 
in Detroit and ordered them to vote 
Democratic ticket and defend them- 
selves in so voting. 

One interesting ana instructive docu- 
ment consists of a letter from A. J. 
Cass, an officer in the Treasury, to D. A. 



Srualley, a Democratic M. C. from Ver- 
mont. The letter was written at the re- 
quest of Smalley, Mr. Cass, having 
some doubts of "the propriety of one 
clerk volunteering charges against an- 
other." Mr. Smalley was not troubled 
with scruples. Mr. Cass says : 

Washington, D. C, May 16, 1837. 
Hon. D. A. Smalley, 

Dear Sir : The man J. H. Lane is an Exara 
iner in the Patent Office from yonr State. If he 
has not been since the advent of Christ, he has 
certainly been so long that " the memory of 
man runneth not to tlie contrary." From reli- 
able information I have ascertained that he has 
never been with us politically, hence, he has 
been against us. When we were at work like 
scalled fiends to avoid being driven to the wall 
by the horde of "black spirits and white" in 
Pemia., Mr. Lane refused to give us aid and 
comfort, stating that he " stood on scientific 
and not on political principles." * * * 

I remain, 

Yours truly, 

A. J. CASS. 

The above letter was enclosed in the 
following one from Smalley : 

Willards Hotel, M > ay 16, 1857. 
Dear Sir : Before I leave the city, permit me 
to say a word about two clerks from Vt. in your 
Depts. One is S. G. Heaton, in Pension Bureau. 
He is a sound and reliable Democrat, and I sin- 
cerely hope will be retained, as Vt., I think, has 
much less than her quota of Clerks. 

Mr. J. H. Lane is also an Examiner, appt. 
from Vt., and I think he ought to be removed— 
the reasons therefore will be found in the en- 
closed not fi-om Mr. Cass, written in reply to 
one I addressed him yesterday. 

With High 
Respect yours 
Truly, 
D. A. SMALLEY. 
Hon. Jacob Thompson, 
Sec'y of Interior. 

Following the above, on the same 
sheet of paper, this State paper is added*. 

"To the foregoing note of my friend Smalley, 
I desire to add that I have the best reasons for 
believing that about 50 per cmt. of the clerks in 
the Land and Patent Offices are anti-Democratic, 
under one ism or another. The only evidence 
which you should require of this fact— is the re- 
fusal of any one to contribute toward the ex- 
penses of the late Presidential election, unless 
for the assigned cause of sheer poverty. 

There are some in your own department who 
not only refused to contribute, but avowed the 
ground of their refusal to be that they were not 
democrats. 

Is it to be said that their places cannot be sup- 
plied! I trow not. 

Faithfully and Cordially, 
Your friend, 

ALBERT SMITH. 

Another contribution to history con- 
sists of a letter from J. L. Henry, an Ex- 
aminer in the Patent Office, addressed to 
Hon. Jacob Thompson, Secretary of the 
Interior, as follows : 

U. S. Patent Office, 

June 10, '57. 
Sir : I learn that my name is upon a list "Bl'k 
Republicans, Know-Nothings, etc.," before you. 
If so, the one who was instrumental in plac- 
ing it there deserves punishment for blind, if 
not malicious falsehood. My entire family and 
relatives are (being slave-holders) cordial haters 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



Ill 



of tliat class of men. But, as I did all hi my 
power (by subscription, example, etc.) to defeat 
them, and to elect our President, I feel morti- 
fied at this step— unnecessary, I hope, to vindi- i 
cate my self-respect. , 

I may add that Mr. Buchanan is my personal 
friend, procured my cadetship, has more than 
once lrindly written me advice, etc. 

I may further add that, in '50-1 I was repri- , 
manded by order of the War Department, and 
violently prejudiced by opposing papers, for (as 
an officer) "interfering in elections" and caus- 
ingmy two companies of regulars to be marched \ 
tothe polls, in Detroit, and defend themselves in , 
voting for Mr. A. W. Buel, (Democrat)— the oppo- 
nent of E. G. Penniman (Whig). Lastly— I have 
a letter from one of your co-equals (if I may so 
speak) asking promotion for me. * * * I 
I have the honor to be 
Yr Ob't Serv't, 

JAS. LAKE HENBY, 
Examiner 
Hon. J. Thompson, o/P'ts. 

See'// of Interior. 

P. S. My name was at the head of a list pre- 
pared by the Know-Nothings, for proscription l 
before the election. ' 

We might multiply, from the batch 
before us, these characteristic letters, 
but the foregoing amply tell the shame- , 
ful tale of the corrupt and tyrannical 
abuse of political assessments by the 
Democrats under Pierce and Buchanan. 



PART X. 

The Law of 1876, proiiibi- 
biting Political Assess- 
ments — Some facts in tlie 
History of its Passage, 

Law of 1876, passed by the Confederate 
Brigadiers— Part of the Confederate 
machinery to wrest National Govern- 
ment from the hands of the majority 
—Violated even a* the date of its pas- 
sage by its Democratic authors— The 
Brigadiers and all of the employees of 
Congress assessed in 1876 by Demo- 
cratic National Committee for parti- 
san purposes and promptly foot the 
bill— Hon. S. S. Cox, friend and pro- 
tege of John Kelly— S. S. Cox in 1878 
denounces Republicans for political 
assessments— Tammany's Assessments 
in 1876 of municipal employees of 
New York in support of Sammy's 
election to House— Kelly's assessment 
circular of 1876. 

The law respecting political assess- 
ments referred to by Mr. Pendleton in 
the Senate, and by Geo. Win. Curtis in 
his circular, was passed in 1876. It was 
passed by the Confederate Brigadiers. 
It was passed as a part of the machine- 
ry by which they proposed to wrest the 
National Government from the hands of 
the majority. By it, all they proposed 
was to defeat or cripple the organization 
of the Republican party by defeating 



all voluntary contributions, not assess- 
ments, in its support. That is abso- 
lutely notorious. For at the moment 
of its passage the party committees of 
the Democracy were assessingthe Briga- 
diers, Senators and Members, and all 
the employees of both Houses of Con- 
gress, for partisan purposes. Thus, at 
the moment of its passage, their own 
committees, with their knowledge and 
approval, were violating the provisions 
of the law, and the Brigadiers united 
in their infringement by paying these 
assessments. Could party craft be 
meaner or more wicked J ? 

Now, Hon. S. S. Cox, a Democratic 
member of the House representing a vir- 
tuous New York city constituency, is 
a genius and a scholar, rich in political 
history and racy in debate. He is par 
excellence a reformer of the most ap- 
proved copperhead type — a purist in 
everything — in politics, as in religion 
and morals. He literally abhors all 
vice — all corruption — all the machinery 
or agents of corruption or vice. His 
great mission on earth, like that of 
Pendleton and Curtis, is to purify our 
politics and society. Hence, being a 
New Yorker, he is naturally, as from 
inclination or ambition, a friend and 
protege of that great and good man, the 
grand sachem of Tammany, John Kel- 
ly. Hence, also, in 1876, Hon. S. S. Cox 
was the principal, as he was the ablest 
and most eloquent, supporter of the 
law against political assessments. 

His invectives against the corrupt sys- 
tem of arbitrary assessments for partisan 
purposes were as terrible as eloquent, 
as was also his arraignment of the Re- 
publican party as guilty of corruption 
and tyranny in resorting to or enforcing 
such assessments. Against all such cor- 
rupt party practices this sublimated 
patriot, the "high toned" and virtuous 
S. S. Cox, would revolt as contami- 
nating. Nevertheless, about the date 
of these utterances in 1876, this incor- 
ruptible purist, our "Little Sammy," was 
liquidating the assessment of his own 
party committee, and in New York city, 
at home, in support of Sammy's re-elec- 
tion, among other partisan purposes, his 
friend and patron, John Kelly, the good 
Sachem of Tammany, was assessing in 
a vast sum the municipal employees of 
the New York city government. About 
that date, the New York Herald pub- 
lished the following circular from the 
Democratic general committee, signed 
by Augustus Schell as chairman, and 
John Kel^y and others a,s its finance com- 
mittee: 

Sir : Tlie Democratic Republican General 
Committee of New York ai*e much iu want of 
funds to pay the legitimate and necessary ex- 
penses of the coming Presidential, State, aud 
county elections, to be held in November en- 
suing, and request from you for that purpose a 
contribution of dollars. 



112 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



By paving that amount to the collector, Mr. 
John D. Newman, at your earliest convenience, 
you will greatly oblige. 

This circular is a copy of the one 
regularly addressed by the Tammany 
committee, at all National, State, or mu- 
nicipal elections, to all the employees 
of the municipal and State governments 
when under the control of the Democ- 
racy, and the assessments thus made are 
inexorably enforced. Woe to the un- 
fortunate wight who hesitates or re- 
fuses to pay them. By virtue of such 
assessments the Honorable S. S. Cox 
holds his seat in the House. 

Corrupt Character and Vast Amount 
of Tammany's Partisan Assessments 
on If ew York City and County— $442,- 
600— Personal Plunder of Tammany- 
Sammy Cox's Friend and Patron— The 
Shameful Story in detail of this Sys- 
tematic Corruption. 

A successful politician must necessarily he a 
good arithmetician, not only must he well 
versed in the rules ol addition, division, sub- 
traction, and "silence," quoting the words of our 
ahle and sprightly "contemporary the Sun, hut 
he must possess the ability of a lightning calcu- 
lator, so as to he competent to arrive a"t totals 
and percentages with promptness and accuracy. 
Take the plunder to be scrambled for in the po- 
litical pool in this city in the present elections, 
for instance, and it will be seen that the capac- 
ity of an expert accountant is needed to grapple 
with the figures involved. We have to elect a 
Mayor, a Sheriff, a County Clerk, a Surrogate, a 
Judge of the Superior Court, a Judge of the Ma- 
rine Court, six Aldermen-at-Large, sixteen dis- 
trict Aldermen, three Coroners, seven Congress- 
men, and twenty-one Assemblymen. Here are 
fifty-eight offices to be divided up among a hun- 
gry crowd of applicants numbering nearly as 
many hundreds, and the labor is of course in- 
creased when the division is to include the mem- 
bers of a rival political organization. The first 
thing necessary is to ascertain the net value of 
the offices, after deducting the political percent- 
ages claimed by the successful party, and the 
result of this primary calculation shows as fol- 
ows: 

Annual Political 
Salary assess Net re- 
Office. or fees, men; s. ceipts. 

Mayor $12,000 $5,00) $7,000 

Sheriff 110,030 50,000 CO, 00 

County Clerk 75,00 J 25.00) 50,000 

Surrogate 15.000 3,0j0 12.C0O 

Superior Court Judge 17.5C0 5,000 12.500 

Marine Court Judge 10,003 2.000 8,000 

President Board Aldermen.. 6,000 1.50) 4 500 

Twenty one Aldermen 105 000 21,000 84,030 

Seven Congressmen 35,000 10,500 24,500 

Twenty-one Assemblymen.. 31,503 5,700 25.803 

Three Coroners 75,C0 > 15,000 60,030 

Totals 492,000 243,700 348.300 

The distribution of the political plunder of 
this city, therefore, implies the bestowal upon 
political favorite i of the snug net annual in- 
come of §648,300, and the securingfor party pur- 
poses the handsome contribution of $134,700 each 
year, or its proportion during the continuance 
of those elected in office. But this is by no 
means all, or the most important portion of the 
plunder. The election of a party mayor, sheriff, 
county clerk, and surrogate means the bagging 
of a very large amount of direct official patron- 
age with those offices in addition to the salaries 
and fees. The mayor appoints the heads of de- 



partments when vacancies occur during his 
term, all of which enter into the calculations of 
the political pool. The sheriff's order of arrest, 
clerk, and deputies make large amounts outside 
of the sheriff's regular fees, amounting in the 
year, according to the estimate of an expert, to 
double the amount of the sheriff's gross in- 
come, or, say, one hundred and eighty thousand 
dollars, the illegitimate charges greatly exceed- 
i ing the legitimate charges under some former 
sheriffs. This portion of the plunder account 
stands as follows : 



PATRONAGE OF NEXT MAYOR. 

One police commissiener $6,000 

One-third patronage of police depart- 
ment as per tax levy of 1876 1,363,000 

Two commissioners of aceounts 6,000 

Patronage of office, 1876 6,000 

One supervisor City liecord 5,000 

Patronage of office! 1876 25,000 

One commissioner of charities and cor- 
rection 5,000 

One-third share of salary patronage. . 93,000 

One fire commissioner 5,000 

One-third share of salary patronage. . 349,000 

One health commissioner 5,000 

One-third share of patronage 46,000 

One dock commissioner 3,000 

One-third share patronage (estimated) 100,000 

One park commissioner 

j One-third share of salary patronage . . 151,000 
One commissioner of taxes and assess- 
ment s > . 5,000 

One-third share of salary patronage. . 34,000 

Superintend nt of buildings 6,500 

Patro; age of office 68,500 

Comptro ler (p obably) 12,000 

Patronage of office 230,000 

Corporation counsel (probably) 15,000 

Patronage of office 145,000 

Gross total $2,681,000 

Less 10 per cent, political assessment. 268,400 



Net plunder 



,415,600 



Wo include the comptroller's and corporation 
attorney's offices as the probable plunder of the 
next m iyor, because, although the tetms of of- 
fice of Mr. Green and Mr. Whitney will expire 
before Mayor Wickhani retires from public life, 
tbe board of aldermen is understood to be under 
instructions not to confirm Mr. Wickham's ap- 
pointments to these offices should the Tam- 
many mayor be successful, but to leave them to 
his successor. In addition to this we have the 
patrenage of the sheriff's and county clerk's of- 
fices outside the fees of the principals, and of 
the surrogate's office, which is estimated as fol- 
lows: 

Sheriff's patronage $180,000 

County clerk's patronage 50,000 

Surrogate's patronage 75,000 



Total $305,000 

Less ten percentum political assessment 30,500 

Net patronage $274,500 

We therefore have as the total city and county 
plunder at stake in the present election the fol- 
lowing grand total : 



Gross direct salaries and fees . 
Less political assessments . . . 



$492,000 
143,700 



Gross mayor's patronage 2,684,000 

Less political assessments . . . 268,400 



Gross other patronage — 
Le-'S political assessments 



$305,000 
30,500 



$348,300 



2,415,600 



274,500 



Net personal plunder 
Political assessments. 

Grand total plunder. . 



$3,038,400 
442 600 



$3,481,000 



TOLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



113 



It is very easy to understand from this state- 
ment how difficult a work it must be to auction 
oif and divide up these offices among politicians 
of rival and adverse organizatious, and why 
Mr. John Kelly is so anxious to secure all the 
spoils for his own political household.— New 
York Herald, October, 1876. 

The Democrats of Xorth Carolina, like 
their Congeners of New York, also de- 
nounce Partisan Assessment while 
enforcing assessments upon all offi- 
cials whom they control. 

We have come into possession of a circular 
from the Republican Congres uonal Committee 
to a gentleman holding an office under the gov- 
vei'ment in the city, assessing him the sum of $3 
for the benefit of the campaign fund.— Elizabeth 
City "Falcon." 

Happy Republican official! And we have 
come into possession of the fact, as alleged, 
that it is proposed to assess the entire Demo- 
cratic gang of chronic officeholders, including 
State officials and Congressmen, one month's 
pay each for campaign expenses. There will be 
a lively time in getting that mouth's pay out of 
many of these gents, particularly those of them 
who feel their official days are numbered, and 
that list includes seven Representatives and 
one Senator in Congress. But make them pay 
out of the plunder they have already received. 
—Raleigh N. C. Journal. 

So throughout the States, in county, 
city, and town, wherever they have con- 
trol, the Democracy, all reformers of 
the Pendleton and Cox and Curtis type, 
while clamoring against Republican 
contributions, inexorably enforce their 
system of political assessments as a test 
of party fealty. 



PART XL 

Further Exposure of the 
False Pretenses of Pendle- 
ton, Randall, Cox and 
Curtis, in the Matter of 
Politieal Assessments. 

Hypocrisy of the Democracy and the 
Civil Service Reform X oodles against 
Political Assessments— All in the Past, 
as in the Present, guilty of levying a 
Partisan Tax, Political Assessments, 
upon their Supporters— No Party but 
the Democratic Party ever Arbitrari- 
ly Assessed Government Employees 
for partisan purposes— Xo Party but 
the Democratic Party ever inflicted 
Removal from Office as the penalty 
of Xon-Payment of the Assessments 
of the insatiable Democratic Tax 
Gatherer— But the corrupt practice 
originated in 1829 in the Demo- 
cratic Party— That Party inexorably 
enforced the Tax throughout its long 
Misrule— The History of the Republi- 
can Party one whole Conflict against 
such Corrupt Tyranny. 

Hence, the studied hypocrisy, the 
fraud or false pretense of the highly 



wrought indignation of the Pcndletons, 
Randalls and Coxes in the Senate and 
House, and the Democratic press — by 
the leaders of the Democratic party 
everywhere — at partisan assessments, at 
arbitrary and compulsory assessments 
for partisan purposes— as also their af- 
fected horror at the pretended corrup- 
tion and demoralization of the times, 
their simulated sympathies for op- 
pressed office-holders coerced to sub- 
mit to arbitrary assessments of their 
" meager salaries " for partisan pur- 
poses, and their theatrical laments over 
the fall of purity in parties and the 
consequent dangers to liberty and 
morals, can all be properly appreciated 
at their real worth and in their real 
character — as only the old masks with 
which these hereditary conspirators 
against freedom, honest administration, 
and the purity of party — our hereditary 
corruptionists— march to the resurrec- 
tion of that putrescent old hulk — the 
Democratic party. 

No party but the Democratic party 
ever resorted to compulsory partisan 
assessments. No party but the Demo- 
cratic party ever inflicted the penalty 
of dismissal from office upon the un- 
fortunate Governmnt official, who 
failed or refused or was unable to liqui- 
date this arbitrary party tax at the 
command of the insatiable Democratic 
tax gatherer ; but this practise, as cor- 
rupt and demoralizing as it was tyran- 
nical originating with the Democracy, 
was inexorably enforced by that party 
and its organs in the national, State, 
and municipal governments under their 
control throughout those fifty years of 
misrule which Pendleton, in the Senate, 
so highly eulogized. Every principle 
of the Republican party revolts at such 
a practice. Its whole history is one of 
conflicts with such practices, and its 
only parallel in any party is to be found 
in the attitude of George Win. Curtis 
and the so called Civil Service Reform- 
ers in their campaign against the Re- 
publican party in support of the violent 
and corrupt Democratic bulldozer. 
These political purists, these preten- 
ders to reform of the Civil Service — 
the Pendletons, rich in the spoils of 
rotteu railroad claims; the S. S. Coxes, 
elected by Tammany through the very 
agencies or practices they denounce, 
arbitrary and compulsory partisan as- 
sessments of municipal employees of 
their cities or districts, with Geo. Win. 
Curtis, all work upon the same plane to 
the same ends— the overthrow or sup- 
pression either by violence or fraud of 
the lawful majorities of the Nation. 
They all abhor the majority. They 
all arbitrarily assess their retainers 
wherever they have the power and des- 
potically punish all delinquents. 
** Shoot deserters," " Decapitate all 
delinquents of the party tax," were 



114 



POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS. 



Inflexible cardinal maxims of the old 
Democracy. 

-Curtis Places himself on the platform 
of the Bourbon Bulldozer— He de- 
nounces the Rule of the Majority ». 
and proclaims the Rule of the Mi- 
nority— Curtis and his Reform Pre- 
tenders ever clamoring for Contri- 
butions—Mis Simulated Sympathies 
for the Oppressed Office-holders Ex- 
tinguished by their contributing to 
the Fund of the Party which saved 
the Nation — All Such Contributing 
Officeholders must expiate Such Sin 
in the Penitentiary, their Families 
in the Almshouse — Curtis the Ge- 
nius of the Inquisition — Viva Curtis 
and Ij©yola— Viva Curtis and Wade 
Hampton ! 

Geo. Wm. Curtis and his bogus re- 
formers are ever clamoring for pe- 
cuniary aid, for contributions, for " do- 
nations " of mone3 r . A passage of their 
circular addressed to every Governient 
employee, reads : 

Donations for the general purposes of the As- 
sociation are requested. Checks should be 
•drawn to order of John C. Eno, treasurer, and 
-addressed to William Potts, secretary. 



Another passage reads : 



The Association invites all citizens to join its 
-numbers and assist in improving our civil ser- 
vice and purifying our politics. 

Annual dues for membership, $2. For fur- 
ther particulars address William Potts, secre- 
tary. 



Thus George Wm. Curtis and liis 
3bogus reformers declare that it is per- 
fectly justifiable, highly moral, and in 
&he line of a pure Civil Service for their 
fcogus association, for this combination 
of unprincipled noodles yclept reform- 
ers, this party of bogus Civil Service 
reformers, to daily address Government 
officials clamoring for donations of 
money, to assess or tax in the form of 
annual dues, every member of their as- 
sociation or party, whether Government 
officials or not, for a partisan fund with 
which to defray the expenses of their 
slanderous publications against the Re- 
publican party ; but in the same breath 
denounce as immoral, corrupt, and op- 
pressive for the Republican organs to 
request and receive of Government of- 
ficials, or for such employee to contrib- 
ute, "money or other valuable thing" in 
support of the parly upon whose cour- 
age and virtues, now as in all the past, 
wholly rest the liberties as the morals 
of the people and nation. 

True, Curtis and his bogus refoiiners 
have not the power to remove those 



officials who treat their clamors for con- 
tributions, their daily requisitions for 
money, with contempt. But they act 
upon the principle as far as their power 
extends. And Curtis has removed all 
doubt as to his m-.tives or purposes. 
In his oration before the Phi Beta 
Kappa Society, of Brown University, in 
June, he publicly placed himself upon 
the plane, the platform, of the Southern 
oligarch. He repudiated the majority. 
Pie denounced what he styles "the ser- 
vility to the majority," and declared in 
favor of the rule of the minority, the 
rule of the oligarch, the rule of the 
"educated classes"— in favor of that 
rule which in every nation, in all ages 
past, lias been marked by uniform re- 
sults, the betrayal of liberty, the degre- 
dation of humanity > in the establishment 
through every vile crime of a slavish 
tyranny, corrupt and bloody. 

That, too, was the platform of the old 
Southern slave-owners— the platform, 
the motive and purpose, which lay at 
the bottom of the slave-holders' rebel- 
lion. It is the platform to-day of the 
Southern oligarch— the rule of the "ed- 
ucated classes"— the platform and pur- 
poses of a "Solid South "-the public 
position upon which the Bourbon De- 
mocracy justify ballot-box stuffing, in- 
timidation, and every violent and cor- 
rupt or fraudulent election villainy by 
which the domination of the "educated 
classes," "the wealth and intelligence" 
of the "Solid South," is maintained. 
Curtis thus places himself and his shab- 
by array of reform pretenders upon 
their natural platform. He thus an- 
nounced and illustrated their motives 
and purposes. He thus exposed their 
alliance with the violent bull-dozing 
supporters of the corrupt minority rule 
of the "Solid South." Why then should 
he not be indulged in their role? To 
assess or tax the multitude or masses — 
to assess or tax the "rank-scented 
many," the canaille, and to punish all 
who resist or refuse his tax ? He charges 
the circular of the Republican Congres- 
sional Committee with "virtually threat- 
ening" all who refuse or fail to contrib- 
ute to the party fund. But Curtis 
indulges in no "virtual threats." He 
openly declares that all who do contrib- 
ute shall not only be removed, but pros- 
ecuted, fined, and imprisoned in the 
penitentiary! Is not that the very 
genius of torture? The genius of the 
inquisition f The genius of an oli- 
garch like a Boisguilbert or Front du 
Boeuif? All sympathy for their op- 
pressed condition, all commiseration for 
their wives and children, are extinguish- 
ed by the crime of th us contributing, and 
they and their families must expiate 
their outrecuidancein dishonor and mis- 
ery in the penitentiary and almshouse! 
Vive Curtis and Wade Hampton ! Vive 
Curtis and Jeff. Davis ! 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



115 



CHAPTER V. 
Appointments and Removals— The Guillotine. 



' The outs, honest fellows, "would think it no sin, 
To drive the ins out, and ; o screw themselves in; 
While the ins (O the rogues!) are agreed to a man, 
To keep themselves snug where they are— it they can.' 



PART I. 

Washington's Administra- 
tion. 

Organization of the government under 
Washington— His first Cabinet— For- 
mation of Parties— Federalists and 
Republicans — Principles and objects 
underlying their organizations — 
Washington fiercely assailed and tra- 
duced— Lampooned and caricatured — 
Jefferson, as Secretary of State, sup- 
ports Washington's libellers— Scenes 
in the Cabinet— Jefferson's Anas- 
Washington appointed only partisans 
of his administration — Pronounces 
the opposite course "Political Sui- 
cide's—Shrewdly anticipates the prac- 
tices underlying the formation of 
modern parties. 

The government of the United States 
under the constitution went into opera- 
tion on Wednesday, March 4, 1789— 
President George Washington was not 
inaugurated until April 30, following. 
He selected as his cabinet: For Secre- 
tary of State, Thos. Jefferson of Vir 
ginia ; for Secretary of Treasury, Alex- 
ander Hamilton, of New York ; for Sec- 
retary of War, Henry Knox, of Massa- 
chusetts ; and for Attorney General, 
Edmund Randolph, of Virginia. Sam- 
uel Asgood of Massachusetts was ap- 
pointed Postmaster-General. With these 
Washington organized the government. 
He had been unanimously elected. Par- 
ties had not as yet taken form or root 
in the Nation ; and his appointments at 
first were wholly of men of Revolution- 
ary fame or stock or their friends or ad- 
herents. Soon, however, the radical dif- 
ferences which manifested themselves 
in the convention which framed the 
Constitution, the wide differences of 
opinion caused by the French Revolu- 
tion, and the divisions respecting Wash- 
ington's foreign and domestic policy, 
consolidated themselves into opposite 
parties. These took the name of Fed- 
eralist and Republican. Among the 
principal of the recognized leaders of 
the Federalists were Washington, the 
elder Adams, Alexander Hamilton, 



Fisher Ames, and Madison for a time ; 
among the leading Republicans were 
Jefferson, Aaron Burr, Elbridge Gerry, 
Wm. B. Giles, Monroe, Clinton, etc. 

The original division or separation into 
parties, and from which these parties 
took their names, was upon the charac- 
ter or interpretation of the Constitu- 
tion. This division was anticipated by 
the differences in the constitutional 
convention. The Federalists were the 
partisans of the Constitution as it was 
adopted, and the advocates of a strong 
national Government through a vigor- 
ous administration of the powers or 
forces of the organic law under a liberal 
construction. The Republicans in the 
convention had opposed the Constitution. 
They regarded it, in the language of 
Patrick Henry, as " a squinting toward 
monarchy," or as Jefferson described it, 
as "an elective monarchy," after the an- 
cient Polish pattern — the worst possible 
form of government — and attempted to 
popularize or circumscribe its powers, 
restricting the forces of the National 
Government and enlarging those of 
the States, by a strict or literal con- 
struction. 

The formation of these parties brought 
with it the inevitable battle for power 
and spoils, and the conflict soon waxed 
"fast and furious." It tested all Wash- 
ington's equanimity. He was lampoon- 
ed and caricatured, and charged with 
almost every crime in the political calen- 
dar. He was no statesman — not even a 
soldier. He was an "angloraanist," or 
tool of England— a "tyrant" and "rnono- 
crat," bent on destroying the liberties 
of the people in the establishment of 
kingly government ; a peculator, and 
was even charged with murder in 1757 
in the old French wars. It is not re- 
markable that Washington's great self- 
command broke down under this syste- 
matic abuse. Jefferson in his "Anas," in 
describing scenes in Washington's Cabi- 
net of which he was a member as Sec- 
retary of State, says : 

Knox, in a foolish incoherent sort of a speech 
introduced the pasquinade lately printed, cal- 
led the funeral of George W— m and James 
W— n, king and judge, &c, where the Pr sidenc 
was placed on the guillotine. The President 
■was inflamed ; got into one of those passions 
when he cannot command himself; ran on much 



116 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



on the personal abuse which had been bestowed 
on him; defied any man on earth to produce 
one single act of his since he had been in tne 
government which was not done on tlie purest 
motives; that he had never repented but once 
the having slipped the moment of resigning his 
office, and that was every moment siuce ; that 
by God he had rather be m his grave than in his 
present situation ; that he would rather be on 
his farm than to be made emperor of tne world; 
and yet that they were charging him with want- 
ing to be king —[Jefferson's Works, Vol. 9. p. 
164.] 

Jefferson was charged with retaining 
some of these slanderers of the General 
in the State Department. In his " Anas " 
Jefferson says that Washington declared: 

"That that rascal Freneau sent him three of 
his papers everyday, as if he thought he would 
become the distributor of his papers; that he 
could see in this nothing but an impudent de- 
sign to insult him ; he ended in this high tone.— 
[Ibid, p. 164.1 

" He [Washington] adverted to a piece of Fro- 
neau's paper of yesterday ; [May 22, 1793] he said 
he despised all their attacks on him personally, 
but that there never had been an act of the 
government, not meaning in the executive line 
only, but in any line, which that paper had not 
abused. He had also marked the word republi c 
V, where it was applied to the French republic. 
(See the original paper.) He was evidently sour 
and warm, and I took his intention to be, that 
I should interpose in some way with Freneau, 
perhaps withdraw his appointment of translat- 
ing clerk to my office. But I will not do it.— 
\Ibid.,p. 145.] 

Jefferson was probably correct in the 
belief that Washington wished the re- 
moval of Freneau. The formation of 
parties had brought discord into his cab- 
inet, Hamilton and Knox had joined the 
Federalists, and Jefferson and Randolph 
the Republicans, and a constant conflict 
of opinions and purposes were the re- 
sult. Jefferson and Randolph notorious- 
ly labored to thwart Washington's pol- 
icy and to injure his administration in 
the estimation of his countrymen. Such 
a conflict could have but one conclusion. 
Jefferson found it necessary to withdraw, 
Randolph was retired in disgrace, and 
Washington was coerced to adopt the 
rule to appoint none hostile to his admin- 
istration. He believed the opposite 
practice absolutely suicidal. In a letter 
dated "Mt. Vernon, 27th September, 
1795," to Timothy Pickering, Secretary 
of War, Washington urges : 

" I shall not, whilst I have the honor to ad- 
minister the government, bring a man into any 
office of consequence knowingly, whose political 
tenets are adverse to the measures which the 
general government are pursuing ; for this, in 
my opinion, would be a sort of political suicide. 
That it would embarrass its movements is most 
certain. But of two men equally well affected 
to the true interests of their country, of equal 
abilities, and equally disposed to lend their sup- 
port, it is the part of prudence to give the pref- 
erence to him against whom the least clamor 
can be excited."— Sparks's Washington, [Vol.11, 
p. 74.] 

Washington, in this policy, shrewdly 
anticipates that subsequently adopted by 
all parties in this country. He will ap- 



point none but partisans of his adminis- 
tration. To appoint his opponents to 
office would be "political suicide." And 
as between two partisans or friends of 
equal ability he will appoint him against 
whom the least clamor can be excited, 
that is, the one most popular or strongest 
with the people. 

Will our civil- service reform noodles, 
will Geo. Wm. Curtis, turn their shafts 
against the "Father of his Country V 



PART II. 

John Adams's and Jeffer- 
son's Administrations. 

Adams Adopted Washington's Policy 
Respecting Appointments— Alien and 
Sedition Laws — Presidential Cam- 
paign ©f 1800— 3To Election by the Elec- 
toral Colleges— Jefferson Elected by 
the House of Representatives in 1801 
—James A. Bayard's Influence Upon 
the Election. 

The elder Adams, Who succeeded Wash- 
ington in the Presidential chair, adopted 
Washington's policy in reference to ap- 
pointments and removals. Under him 
the enactment of the unpopular "Alien 
and Sedition Law" and its somewhat 
rigid enforcement by the United States 
courts, being pretty generally regarded 
as an unconstitutional and dangerous 
stretch of Federal power, greatly inten- 
sified the hostility and bitterness of par- 
ties, and in consequence, at the next 
presidential election in 1800, Adams was 
defeated. Jefferson and Burr, both Re- 
publicans, had, in 1801, the same vote 
(73) in the electoral colleges, and the 
choice of a President consequently de- 
volved upon the House of Representa- 
tives. The contest between the two was 
an excited one. The fortunes of the can- 
didates were practically in the hands of 
a Federalist, Hon. James A. Bayard, of 
Delaware, the grandfather of the present 
Democratic U. S. Senator of that name, 
and a patriotic man of high character and 
great abilities. He had little respect for 
either Jefferson or Burr. He regarded 
the principles and character of both as 
hostile to the best interests of the nation. 
But a President had to be elected or civil 
war and ruin of the government would 
in all probability follow. Hence, choos- 
ing, as he states, "between two evils," 
he acquiesced in the election of Jeffer- 
son as the "least evil." 

The Guillotine under Jefferson — Bay- 
ard's Exposure of Incidents attending 
Jefferson's Election — Jefferson Re- 
wards his Friends— His Punishment 
of His Enemies—" No Innocence, no* 
Merit, no Truth, no Services, could 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



117 



Save the Unhappy Secretary who "Dis- 
believed" in Jefferson's Creed— Jef- 
ferson the Founder of the so-called 
"Spoils System." 

Jefferson early began the work of de- 
capitating such of his opponents as he 
found in office— the "auglomanists," as 
he styled them. The guillotine worked 
briskly and vengefully. 

In the celebrated debate in the House 
of Eepresentatives, in February, 1802, 
upon the Jeffersoniau proposition to 
abolish or "reform" the United States 
courts, that is., to abolish or remove 
what Jefferson denounced as "John 
Adams' midnight judges," certainly the 
most extraordiuary, radical aud revolu- 
tionary proposition in the matter of re- 
movals ever made under our Govern- 
ment, Mr. Bayard, in reply to Mr. 
Giles, of Virginia, the leader of the Re- 
publicans of the House, thus describes 
some of the characteristic incidents at- 
tending and following the election of 
Jefferson the year previous : 

The case, sir, to which I refer carries me once 
more to the scene of the Presidential election. 
I should not have introduced it into this de- 
bate had it not been called up by the honorable 
member from Virginia. In that scene I had my 
part ; it was a part not barren of incident, and 
which has left an impression which cannot 
easily depart from my recollection. I know 
who were rendered important characters, either 
from the possession of personal means or from 
the accident of political situation. And now, 
sir, let me ask th« honorable member what his 
reflections and belief will be when he observes 
that every man on whose vote the event of the 
election hung has since been distinguished by 
presidential favor. I fear, sir, I shall violate 
the decorum of parliamentary proceeding in the 
mentioning of names ; but I hope the example 
which has been set me will be admitted as as 
excuse. Mr. Charles Pinckney, of South Caro- 
lina, was not a member of the House, but he 
was one of the most active, efficient, and suc- 
cesssul promoters of the election of the present 
Chief Magistrate. It was well ascertained that 
the votes of South Carolina were to turn the 
equal balance of the scales. The zeal and in- 
dustry of Mr. Pinckuey had no bounds. The 
doubtful polities of South Carolina were de- 
cided, and her votes cast into the scale of Mr. 
Jefferson. Mr. Pinckney has since been ap- 
pointed minister plenipotentiary to the court of 
Madrid ; an appointment as high and honorable 
as any within the gift of the Executive. I 
will uot deny that this preferment is the re 
ward of talents and services, although, sir, 
I have never yet heard of the talents or ser- 
vices of Mr. Charles Pinckney. In the House 
of Representatives I know what was the value 
of the vote of Mr. Claiborne, of Tennessee. The 
vote of a State was m his hands. Mr. Clai- 
borne has since been raised to the high dignity 
of governor of the Mississippi Territory. I 
know how great, and how greatly felt, was the 
importance of the vote of Mr. Linn, of New Jer- 
sey. The delegation of the State consists of 
five members. Two of the delegation were de- 
cidedly for Mr. Jetlerson ; two were decidedly 
for Mr. Burr. Mr. Linn was considered as in- 
clining to one side, but still doubtful. Both 
parties looked up to him for the vote of New 
Jersey. He gave it to Mr. Jefferson, and Mr. 
Lmn has since had the profitable office of fupcr- 
visor of his district conferred upon him. Mr. 
Lyon, of Vermont, was in this instance, an im- 
portant man. He neutralized the vote of Ver- 
mont. His absence alone would have given the 



vote of a State to Mr. Burr. It was too much to 
give an office to Mr. Lyon; his character was 
low. But Mr. Lyon's son has been handsomely 
provided for in one of the executive offices. I 
shall add to the catalogue but the name of one 
more gentleman, Mr. Edward Livingston, of 
New York. I knew well, full well I knew, the 
consequence of this gentleman. His means 
were not limited to his own vote ; nay, I always 
considered more than the vote of New York 
within his power. Mr. Livingston has been 
made the attorney for the district of New York ; 
the road of preferment has been opened to him, 
and his brother has been raised to the distin- 
guished place of minister plenipotentiary to the 
French Republic. — [Annals of Congress, 1th 
Cong., 1st session, p. 640.] 

Said Mr. Bayard, "this catalogue 
might be swelled to a much greater 
magnitude." 

And again, in the same debate, in re- 
ply to the invectives of Mr. Giles against 
the judges for what he regards as their 
tyrannical abuse of their powers, Mr. 
Bayard said : 

If, however, Mr. Chairman, the eyes of the 
gentleman [Mr. Giles, of Virginia,] are delighted 
with victims— if objects of misery are grateful 
to his feelings— let me turn his view from the 
walks of the judges to the track of the present 
executive [Jefferson, j It is in this path we see 
the real victims of stern, uncharitable, unre- 
lenting power. It is here, sir, we see the sol- 
dier who fought the battles of the Revolution— 
who spilt his blood and wasted his strength to 
establish the independence of his country — de- 
prived of the reward of his services and left to 
pine in penury and wretchedness. It is along 
this path that you may see helpless children 
crying for bread, and gray hairs sinking in sor- 
row to the grave ! It is here that no innocence, 
no merit, no truth, no services can save the un- 
happy secretary who does not believe in the 
creed of those in power. 

I have been forced upon this subject, and be- 
fore I leave it allow me to remark that without 
inquiring into the right of the President to make 
vacancies in office, during the recess of the Sen- 
ate, but admitting the power to exist, yet that 
it never was given by the Constitution to en- 
able the Chief Magistrate to punish the insults, 
to revenge the wrongs, or to indulge the an- 
tipathies of the man. If the discretion exists, 
I have no hesitation in saying that it is abused 
wheu exercised from any other motive than the 
public good. And when I see the will of a Pres- 
ident precipitating from office men of probity, 
knowledge, and talents, against whom the com- 
munity has no complaint, I consider it as a 
wanton and dangerous abuse. And when I see 
men who have been victims of this abuse of 
power, I view them as p'oper objects of na- 
tional sympathy and commiseration.— [Ibid, pp. 
611,612.] ' 

Here is really the origin of the so- 
called spoils system — the reward of par- 
tisan friends and the punishment of per- 
sonal and partisan enemies. Mr. Jno. 
T. S. Sullivan, in his " The Public Men 
of the Revolution," says here "is the im- 
plied invitation given by Mr. Jefferson 
to all political adversaries to abandon 
their creeds and adopt his own ; and the 
clearly implied promise of reward for 
apostacy. This was a well-known mode 
of strengthening party long before 
there were white Americans. Mr. Jef- 
ferson has the distinction of having in- 
troducedit into our Republic. He carried 
it to its full extent, officially and pri- 



118 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



vately. In no nation, no, not even iu 
Rome, in its most corrupt days, has this 
demoralizing seduction been more effec- 
tive than in our own land since Mr. Jef- 
ferson became President." 

PART III. 

Removals and tlie Question 
of Patronage. 

Removals under Washington and John 
Adams and Jefferson — Washington 
and Adams make 21 changes- Jeffer- 
son 62. 

Washington made 10 removals ; John 
Adams made 8, and refused to reappoint 
3— -making a total of 11 changes. But Jef- 
ferson removed 53 and refused to reap- 
point i— a total of 62, which at that date, 
when the whole cost of the government 
was about $3,000,000, embraced the larg- 
est proportion of the employees. In a 
word, Jefferson removed all distinctly or 
openly Opposed to Mm and his party, re- 
tained in office only those supposed to be 
favorable to him, and appointed none 
opposed to him or his party. 

Madison makes 19 changes— Monroe 18 
changes— John Q,. Adams 12 changes— 
Makiug 132 changes in all since begin- 
ning of Government— in 40 years— of 
which Jefferson made G2. 

Madison, being of the same political 
school, found fewer political enemies in 
office. Nevertheless he removed 17 and 
refused to reappoint 2—19 in all. So 
with Monroe. Being also of the same 
political school, Monroe found even few- 
er partisan enemies in office; but he also 
removed 17 and declined to reappoint 1 
—18 in all. And John Q. Adams, who 
was elected, in 1825, by the House, being 
also a Republican, had a still more lim- 
ited field for removals. Nevertheless, 
John Q. Adams dismissed i and re- 
fused to reappoint 8— in all 12, and 
making 132 changes in all since the 
beginning of the government under the 
Constitution, of which number Jefferson 
had removed 62, or nearly one-half. 
Monroe unanimously re-elected in 1820 
—The Federalists as a party disappear 
—Ail Candidates in Presidential Elec- 
tion of 1821 Republicans— Xo Election 
by Electoral Colleges— Jno. <fc. Adams 
Elected by House — Foundation of Mod- 
ern Parties— Adams assailed— Patron- 
age under it denounced— Appointment 
of Select Committee to inquire into 
matter of Patronage— Thos. H. Benton 
at Head of Committee. 

At the Presidential election of 1820-21, 
Mr. Monroe received the whole vote of 
the electoral colleges, but one, which 



was cast for Jno. Q. Adams. Here the 
Federalists as a party disappear from 
our political history. At the Presiden- 
tial election of 1824-25, all the candi- 
dates were of the same political school: 
John Q. Adams, of Massachusetts, An- 
drew Jackson, of Tennessee, Wm. H. 
Crawford, of Georgia, and Henry Clay, 
of Kentucky — all were Republi- 
cans. There was no election by the col- 
leges, and again the choice of a Presi- 
dent devolved upon the House of Rep- 
resentatives. John Q. Adams waschosen. 
Jackson had the largest popular vote, 
and his partisans, exaggerating that fact 
into an expression of the people in favor 
of the General as President, were great- 
ly disappointed and exasperated at the 
success of Adams. 

Such a contest was naturally followed 
by intense and irreconcilable hostilities. 
Adams's administration was fiercely as- 
sailed. By John Randolph, of Roanoke, 
it was described as a "union of the Puri- 
tan and Blackleg — of Blifil and Black 
George," and generally by the partisans 
of Jackson, among many other sins, be- 
cause of an increase of Government pat- 
ronage. At the first session of the Nine- 
teenth Congress, in the United States 
Senate, a select committee, with Hon. 
Thomas Hart Benton, of Missouri, at its 
head, was appointed to inquire into the 
expediency of reducing this patronage. 

Mr. Benton had been a partisan of Mr. 
Clay's and bitterly hostile to Jackson 
— His warnings as to the result of Jack- 
son's election — Had not as yet openly 
declared for Jackson— His Report on 
Patronage. 

Mr. Benton had been a partisan of Mr. 
Clay's, and bitterly hostile to General 
JacKson. He had even declared that if 
the General was elected President, the 
representatives of the people and States 
in Congress would have to legislate with 
pistols in their hands, and had not as yet 
openly proclaimed his adhesion to Jack- 
son. 

His report on Government patronage 
is dated May 4, 1826. After examining 
and showing the large increase in the 
patronage since the beginning of the 
government, Mr. Benton urges : 

Everywhere, to tlie extreme frontier of the 
remotest State or Territory, Federal patronage 
will be found in degree and force proportionate 
to the population of the place, and forever aug- 
menting with the increasing power of the Gov- 
ernment. 

The whole of this great power will centre in 
the President. The King of England is the 
u fountain of honor ; " the President of the 
United States the source of patronage. He 
presides over the entire system of Federal ap- 
pointments, jobs, and oontracts. He has 
" power" over the " support " of the individuals 
who administer the system. He makes and un- 
makes them. He chooses from the circle of his 
friends and supporters, and may dismiss them, 
aud upon all the principles of human action, 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



119 



will dismiss them, as often as they disappoint 
his expectations. His spirit will animate their 
actions in all tke elections to State and Federal 
offices. There may be exceptions, but the truth 
of a general rule is proved by the exception. 
The intended check and control of the Senate, 
without new constitutional or statutory pro- 
visions, will cease to operate. Patronage will 
penetrate this body, subdue its capacity of 
resistance, chain it to the car of power, and en- 
able the President to rule as easily, and much 
more securely, with than without the normal 
check of the Senate. 

But Mr. Benton concludes with this 
practical piece of wisdom : 

But things must be taken as they are. States- 
men must act for the country they live in and 
not for the island of Utopia. They must act 
upon the state of facts in that country and not 
upon the visions of fancy. 



PART IV. 

Retrenchment and Reform 
and Reduction and Puri- 
fication of tne Patronage. 

The Slogan of Jackson's Partisans- 
Clay denounced for corruption of the 
Press through the Government Pat- 
ronage — Jackson's better to President 
Monroe, in 1816— Advises a Political 
Millennium through the Patronage- 
Sam Houston's interpretation of 
that tetter— The Tree should be j udged 
by its Fruits. 

In the House, as in the Senate, the 
cries of " Retrenchment and Reform,''' 1 
" Reduction of Government patronage,' 1 ' 1 
were enthusiastically raised. Tiiey 
soon became the slogan of Jackson's 
partisans. The Chilton-Hamilton reso- 
lutions in 1828 providiug for the ap- 
pointment of a committee to inquire 
into the condition of the departments 
under Adams were adopted. Mr. 
Hamilton was appointed its chairman. 
In his report he fails to produce a 
single fact in evidence of corruption in 
the administration through the Govern- 
ment patronage or through any other 
agency or means. But the partisans of 
the "Hero of New Orleans" even in- 
creased their charges of corruption 
against Adams and Clay. Henry Clay, 
as Secretary of State, took the pub- 
lication of the laws from some half dozen 
Jackson editors because of their con- 
stant and unexampled course of unjus- 
tifiable and slanderous abuse of him 
and his department. The Jacksonites 
were " terribly scandalized." They de- 
nounced the act as one of unparalleled 
proscription — as " an enormity," " an 
assault upon the freedom of the press," 
and " an outrage upon the liberties of 
the people." And throughout the Pres- 
idential campaign of 1828, these virtuous 
reformers shouted their slogan of "re- 



trenchment and reform," — "reduction 
and purification of the Government pat- 
ronage." In those days, as now, all the 
partisans of Jackson, these embryo 
Democratic Republicans, were refor- 
mers: all were Pendletons and Ran- 
dalls and S. S. Coxes. November 12,. 
1816, upon the occasion of Mr. Monroe's 
first election, General Jackson ad- 
dressed him a letter in which the Gen- 
eral urges liim to proclaim the advent of 
a party millennium. The General thus- 
phrases it : 

In every situation party and party feelings- 
should be avoided. Now is the time to exter- 
minate that monster called party spirit. By 
selec ing characters most conspicuous for their 
probiry, virtue, capacity, and firmness, with- 
out any regard to party, you will go far to erad- 
icate those f eeliv.gs which on former occasions 
have thrown so many obstacles in the way of 
government, and perhaps have the pleasure of 
unitinar a people heretofore politically divide I. 
The chief magistrate of a great and powerful 
nation should never indulge in party feeling. 
Ilis conduct should be liberal and disinterested, 
always bearing in mind that ho acts for the- 
who e, not for a part of the community. By 
this course you will exalt the national charac- 
ter and acquire for yourselves a name as im- 
perishable as monumental marble. * * * These 
are the sentiments of a friend. Thev are the 
feelings, if I know my own heart, of an undis- 
sembled patriot. 

This letter, in 1824, when Jackson was- 
a candidate before the people for the 
Presidency was produced and printed 
with great parade. Later, in 1827, in. 
the House of Representatives. Hon.. 
Sam Houston, at the time a Member 
from Tenuessee, thus interpreted it 
for the benefit of the faithful: 

Lot patriotism, talents, and integrity bo the- 
passport to office. The President ought not to 
be the head of a party, but the President of a. 
nation; and it is just that the tree should be- 
judged by its fruits. 

How Pledges of Retrenchment and Re- 
form wore Fulfilled— Tree Judged by- 
Its Fruits— Jackson's Speech at Inau- 
guration Announces the Guillotine — 
Jackson Makes 1,500 Removals the 
first year — Five of his Cabinet from 
Members of Congress— Gives Public 
Printing to Partisan Editors and Ap- 
pointed Large Numbers of that Class 
to Lucrative Positions — The Workings 
of the Guillotine — Webster Denounces 
the Work—'' When »id English Minis- 
ter Go Down to Low-Water Mark to 
Make an Ousting of Tide Waiters?" 

How were these pledges of "Retrench- 
ment and reform,'' these pledges of "re- 
duction and purification of the govern- 
ment patronage," so solemnly uttered in 
every possible fomi in and out of Con- 
gress t>y Jackson and his partisans — 
now were they fulfilled ? Let us "judge 
the tree by its fruits." 

In his address at his inauguration Gen- 
! eral Jackson declares : 



120 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



The recent demonstration of public senti- 
ment inscribes on the list of executive duties, 
in characters too legible to be overlooked, the 
task of reform, which will require particularly 
the correction of those abuses that have brought 
the patronage of the Federal Government into 
conflict with the freedom of elections, and the 
couuteraction of those causes which have dis- 
turbed the rightful course of appointment, and 
have placed or continued power in unfaithful 
or incompetent hands. 

In this we have the announcement of 
the guillotine. Its work began almost 
instantly and most vengefully. Under 
all previous administrations from Wash- 
ington's to John Q. Adams's, extending 
through a period of 40 years, only 132 re- 
movals or changes had been made by all 
his predecessors, but within one year 
from his inauguration Jackson dismissed 
not less than 1,500 officers of all kinds. 
He selected, too, to begin with, that 
very class of officers the removal or ap- 
pointment of which he and his partisans 
had so denounced. 

Under Adams the appointment of 
members of Congress to positions under 
the Executive was sternly reprobated as 
wrong in principle and tending to the 
corruption of the legislature. Jackson, 
too, was solemnly pledged to the exclu- 
sion of members from the executive pat- 
ronage, but his first act as President was 
to appoint five of the six members of his 
Cabinet from the two houses and ap- 
pointed the Speaker of the House as 
Minister to England. He thus appointed 
at different times twenty-three members 
in all, from cabinet ministers down to 
appraisers of the customs. So, under 
Adams, the removal by the Secretary of 
State of six publishers of the laws was 
"an infringement of the freedom of the 
press, and dangerous to the liberties of 
the people.'' But within the first year 
of his administration Jackson removed 
all the publishers of the laws — every one 
of them — and distributed this public 
printing among his own partisan press. 

Nor only that. Jackson and his par- 
tisans had inveighed heavily against the 
appointment of partisan editors to gov- 
ernment positions, as it tended to cor- 
rupt the press, and pledged reform in 
the matter. His reform consisted in ap- 
pointing large numbers of that class, 
the ablest and most unscrupulous of his 
partisan editors, to lucrative positions. 
Not less than fifty-five of these men 
were thus rewarded during the first two 
years of his administration. Of these 
one was appointed an auditor; one a 
comptroller ; nine clerks in the depart- 
ments; one librarian to Congress; one 
a district attorney; one register of a 
hind office; one a surveyor or the public 
hinds ; one a receiver of public moneys; 
one secretary of a Territory; one a mar- 
shal; one a purser in the navy; two in- 
dian agents; three naval officers; nine 
custom-house officers, and twenty-two 
postmasters. In most cases those ap- 



pointed to local offices continued to edit 
their papers, and their zeal in defending 
the administration from the assaults oi 
the enemy bore an exquisite and harmo- 
nious proportion to the amount of salary 
attached to the offices they held. 

Jackson, also, during this first year of 
his administration dismissed fifty col- 
lectors of customs, five naval officers, 
fifteen district-attorneys, thirteen mar- 
shals, twelve registers of land offices, 
and fourteen receivers of the public 
moneys. Between the 4th of March, 

1829, and the 7th of April, 1830, he dis- 
missed thirty weighers, gaugers, and 
measurers. (Vide Senate Doc. No. 120, 
1st session, 21st Congress.) Between the 
4th of March, 1829, and the 22dof March 

1830, he removed four hundred and 
ninety- one postmasters, besides numer- 
ous officers in the departments, and in 
the diplomatic, consular, and other 
branches of the public service. In short, 
it is on record that lie dismissed, during 
the first year of his administration, not 
less than fifteen hundred officers. If one 
of these was dismissed for any cause, 
other than that they entertained politi- 
cal views not in harmony with those of 
Jackson's history is silent on the subject. 

And so on to the close of his adminis- 
tration, embracing all classes of em- 
ployees, from the highest down to the 
meanest laborer. Daniel Webster, in 
reviewing these facts, exclaimed : 

There is no civilized country on earth in 
which, on a change of rulers, there is siich an 
inquisition for spoils as we have witnessed in 
this free Republic. Whenever did any English 
Minister, Whig or Tory, go down to low water 
mark to make an ousting of tide waiters'? When 
did he disturb the post offices, the mail con- 
tracts, and anything else in the remotest de- 
gree connected with the Government t 



PART V. 

Executive Patronage " had 
increased, was increasing 
and should he dimin- 
ished" — Reform was neces- 
sary—Jackson pledged to 
cleanse " the Augean Sta- 
hles"—His popularity in 
consequence— dumber of 
Officers douhled under 
J ackson — Consequent in- 
crease of Expenditures, 
«&c. 

A resolution of the House declared 

that the " executive patronage had in- 

| creased, was increasing, and should be 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



121 



diminished." "Reform was necessa- 
ry." In the early days of the canvass 
a grave and classical Senator declared 
that the "Augean stables" required 
cleaning out. The backwoods orators, 
thinking that the said stables were 
in some way intimately connected 
with the White House establishment, 
took up the cry, and it soon became 
understood among Democrats every- 
where, that one of the first iobs which 
General Jackson would undertake on 
reaching the White House, would be to 
" clean out them Augean stables." The 
idea that he would do the job with his 
own hands gave him increased popu- 
larity witli the Democratic masses, and 
probably contributed more votes to his 
cause than was drawn from the ranks 
of those who understood the promise 
in its figurative sense. 

Jackson, himself, encouraged the idea 
that he would get along without much 
help and in his first inaugural address, 
he said: 

I shall depend for tlie advancement of the 
public service more on the integrity and zeal of 
the public officers than on thvir numbers. 

He was, however, no sooner seated in 
the Presidential chair, than it became 
evident to him that he should require 
much help, in point of "numbers™ as 
well as "zeal." For evidence of this 
fact, it is only necessary to examine the 
blue books of his administration and 
compare them with those of his pre- 
decessor. It will then be seen that page 
after page was added to Jackson's blue 
book until it more than doubled the size 
of that of Adams' long before the close 
of this " reform " administration. A 
single illustration will suffice, taken 
from the history of the New York Cus- 
tom House. 

At the close of Mr. Adams's adminis- 
tration there Were one hundred and 
seventy-five employees in that estab- 
lishment. 

In the ten following years the em- 
ployees of the New York Custom House, 
were as follows: 

1829 1 212 

1831 268 

1833 324 

1835 328 

1837 415 

1839 .... 490 

Being an increase of force required 
to " clean out the Augean stables " of 
about three hundred per cent. It may 
be here remarked, incidentally, that the 
average amount of revenue collected at 
New York during the ten years of Dem- 
ocratic reform was just about the same 
as it was under the administration of 
Mr. Adams, to wit : $13,000,000. 

How the pledges of "retrenchment 
and reform" were carried out, will ap- 



pear from a comparison of the cost of 
collecting this revenue during the ad- 
ministration of Adams with the ten sub- 
sequent years of the "era of reform." 
At the close of Mr. Adams' admiuis- 
tratiou, the expense of collecting the 
revenue at New York was only $194,- 
687.76. For the ten succeeding years 
they are written down in Rep. 669, p. 
170, 2d session, 27th Congress, as follows : 

1829 $212,531 57 

1830 295,006 06 

1831 376,920 34 

1832 408,791 28 

1833 429,501 29 

1834 365,590 50 

1835 385,121 75 

1836 450,984 31 

1837 468,045 96 

1838 506,018 10 

1839. 594,269 64 

Being an increase of three hundred 
per cent. 

This is but an instance of the "re- 
form " under Jackson. It was the same 
throughout the country. Public ex- 
penditures were everywhere frightfully 
augmented ; numberless frauds and 
defalcations ensued ; the Treasury was 
plundered of millions ; the departments 
were thrown into the utmost confusion 
and disorder ; and the General Post Office 
was bankrupted, so that at the called 
session of the 27th Congress, it became 
necessary to appropriate the sum of 
$497,657, "to enable the department to 
meet its engagements and pay its debts." 



PAET VI. 

Specimens of the Appoint- 
ment Literature of the 
Time. 

Swartwout to "My dear Jessica** Hoy t 
—"No d— d Rascal who made use of his 
Office or its Profits for the Purpose of 
Keeping Mr. Adams in and General 
Jackson out of Power is entitled to 
the least lenity or Mercy, save that of 
Hanging"— Think of "My Nephew" 
"after remembering Your Relatives" 
—Assistant editors "to ward off Ma. 
lignant shafts" aimed in consequence 
of the contemplated "General Sweep," 
Ac. 

A few specimens of the applications 
for place, and of the letters accompany- 
ing them, under Jackson, will illustrate 
as well the character of the applicants 
as the wild and unscrupulous scramble 
for office among these Democratic re- 
formers. Samuel Swartwout was the 



122 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



successful applicant for the collector- 
ship of the port of New York, the most 
responsible office under the gift of the 
President. Swartwout a few years pre- 
vious had been one of Burr's lieuten- 
ants in his traitorous plot for the con- 
quest of Louisiana and portions of 
Mexico, and was tried with Burr at 
Richmond for treason. While at Wash- 
ington in March, 1829, in pursuit of spoils, 
Swartwout wrote to his friend Jesse 
Hoyt at New York, the following char- 
acteristic letter : 



Washington, March u, 1829. 

My Dear Jessica [Hoyt] : Your very beau- 
tiful and entire interesting letter of the 8th was 
received in due course of law. I hold to your 
doctrine fully, that no d— d rascal who made 
use of his office or its profits for the purpose of 
keeping Mr. Adams in and General Jackson out 
of power is entitled to the least lenity or mercy, 
save that of hanging. So we think both alike 
on that head. 

Whether or not I shall get anything in the 
general scramble for plunder remains to be 
proven; but I rather guess I shall. What it 
shall be is not yet so certain; perhaps keeper 
of the Bergen lighthouse. ***** 
SAM. SWARTWOUT. 

In this we have the very genius of 
Democratic reform. 

Here is another document, valuable, 
alike for its historical and literary in- 
terest : 

New York, April 29, 1829. 
To S. Swartwout, Esq. : We, the under- 
signed subscribers, doo recommend Abraham 
Mcrserole as a very suitable person for one of 
the custom-house inspectors, and would gladly 
se him appointed, knowing him too allways hav- 
ing been a warm supporter of General Jack- 
son. 

JEROMUS JOHNSON, 
JEREMIAH DODGE, 
M. M. NOAH, 
H. ECKFORD, 
WILLIAM S. COE. 

On the same page and sheet of paper 
is the following : 

Dear Sir: When you have leasure, and take 
up the numerous applications for offices in the 
custom-house department, Imakethis memoran- 
dum for fear it may escape your memory, that 
Mr. Abraham Merserole is a nephew of mine. 
His brother Bernard, the alderman of the 10th 
ward, was a candidate for the office 1 fill, sup- 
ported by a strong petition of Jackson's f iends 

would take it as a particular favor, if there 

is a vacancy after remembering your rel&tives, 
if you would give him a commission. 
Yours truly, 

JEROMUS JOHNSON, 

And here is another specimen of much 
excellence and interest. It was ad- 
dressed to Collector Swartwout by Col. 
John Decatur, recommending Mr. John 
Blunt for a position in the custom-house, 
to wit : 

Portsmouth, May i, 1829. 

Dear Sir: This will be handed to you by my 

particular friend. Mr. John Blunt. ***** 

For the last four years he has actively and 

openly advocated the claims of our present 



worthy chief magistrate. * * " Should it be 
necessary to have an assistant editor, to aid 
Mr. Noah in warding off the malignant shafts 
of the coalition party, which will be made on 
you, in consequence of the general sweep which 
I presume you intend to make in your office, I 
know o no more suitable man than this said 
Cod of mine, and I therefore request that you 
will add one more obligation I am already un- 
der by giving him an appointment in the 
custom-house. 

Yours, with esteem and affection, 

DECATUR. 



PART VII. 

« To the Victor belong the 
Spoils." 

Senator Holmes* (of Me.) Resolution de. 
nouncing Removals as Unconstitu- 
tional—Martin Tan Buren nominated 
as Minister to England— Henry Clay 
leads Opposition to his Confirmation 
— Mr. Clay denounces Van Buren as the 
author of Spoils System under Jack- 
son — Government would soon " be- 
come intolerable and finally end in 
Despotism as Inexorable as that at 
Constantinople**— Governor Marcy, of 
JfewTork, in reply, boldly declares 
that " to the Victor belong the Spoils 
of the Enemy." 

Of course the wildest clamors attend- 
ed this vengeful working of the guillo- 
tine, and the country was stirred from 
its centre to its circumference. It as- 
sailed the two Houses of Congress. In 
the Senate, in 1830, Mr. Holmes, of 
Maine, offered the following resolution : 

Itesoloed, That tlie President of the United 
States, by the removal of officers (which remov- 
al was not required for the faithful execution 
of the law) aud filling the vacancies thus cre- 
ated in the recess of the Senate, acts against 
the interests of the peoplo, the rights of the 
States, and the spirit of the Constitution. 

This resolution embodied the judg- 
ment of those opposed to Jackson's re- 
form methods. A little later, in Janu- 
ary, 1832, these anti- Reformers made 
their judgment felt. Martin Van Buren 
was nominated as Minister to England. 
Henry Clay was now in the Senate, and 
in executive session, he excited and led 
the opposition to Mr. Van Buren's con- 
firmation. Among other reasons which 
Mr. Clay assigned for his hostility to 
Mr. Van Buren's appointment were the 
following : 

I have another objection to this nomination. 
I believe, upon circumstanc s which satisfy my 
mind, that to this gentleman is principally to be 
ascribed the introduction of the odious system 
of proscription for the exercise of the elective 
franchise in the Government of the United 
States. I understand that it is the system on 
which the party in his own State, of which he 
is the reputed head, constantly acts. He was 
amoug the first of the secretaries to apply that 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



123 



system to the dismission of clerks in liis depart- 
ment, known to mo to be highly meritorious, 
and among them one who is now a Representa- 
tive in the other House. It is a detestable sys- 
tem, drawn from the worst periods of the Ro- 
man republic ; and if it were to bo perpetuated, 
if the offices, honors, and dignities of the people 
were to be put up to a scramble, to be decided 
by the result of every Presidential election, our 
Government and institutions, becoming intoler- 
able, would finally end in a despotism as inexor- 
able as that at Constantinople. [Register of De- 
bates, 22d Cong., 1st sess., 1831-'32, p. 1324.] 

To which the Hon. Win. L. Marcy, a 
Senator from New York, responded : 

It may be, sir, that the politicians of the 
United States are not so fastidious as some gen- 
tlemen are as to disclosing the principles on 
which they act. They boldly preach what they 

f practice. When they are contending for victory, 
hey avow their intention of enjoying the fruits 
of it. If they are defeated, they expect to retire 
from office. If they are successful, they claim, 
as a matter of right, the advantages of success. 
They see nothing wrong in the rule that to the 
victor belongs the spoils of the enemy.— [Ibid., p. 
1325.] 

"To the victor belongs the spoils o 
the enemy!" This formulated into a 
maxim the principle and whole purpose 
of Democratic reform. It was at once 
adopted by the Democracy, and has since 
become the typical principle of the 
party and its policy. 



Senator Thomas E wing's Resolution o- 
1832 Denouncing Removals for Opin- 
ion's Sake as Hostile to the Spirit of 
the Constitution and Prejudicial to 
the Public Service— Declares it Inex- 
pedient for the Senate to Advise and 
Consent to Removals Without Suffi- 
cient Cause. 

At the same session. Hon. Thomas 
Ewing ; a Senator from Ohio, offered the 
following resolution : 

Resolved, That the practice of removing pub- 
he officers by the President for any other pur- 
pose than that for securing a faithful execution 
of the law, is hostile to the spirit of the Con- 
stitution ; was never contemplated by its train- 
ers ; i« an extension of Executive influence; is 
prejudicial to the public service, and dangerous 
to the liberties of the people. 

Resolved, That it is inexpedient for tho Senate 
to advise and consent to the appointment of 
any person to fill a supposed vacancy in any 
ofSce occasioned by the removal of a prior in- 
cumbent, unless such prior incumbent shall ap- 
pear to have been removed for sufficient cause. 

Henry Clay's Resolution of 1834 De- 
nouncing: Removals by the President 
Alone as Unconstitutional. 

And in March, 1834, in the Senate, Hon 
Henry Clay offered the following : 

Resolved, That the Constitution of the United 
States does not vest in the President the power 
to remove at his pleasure, officers under the 
Government of the United States whose offices 
have been established by law. 



PART VIII. 

Tan Ruren's Administra- 
tion simply an addendum 
of Jackson's in the matter 
of Removals and Appoint- 
ments — Nevertheless Van 
Buren removed 860 Post- 
masters, ete. — He appoint- 
ed none but Partisans or 
Democratic Reformers to 
Office. 

Mr. Van Buren's administration, so 
far as it related to the subject of politi- 
cal proscription, was a mere addendum, 
or appendix, to that of Jackson. The 
latter had left little to be done in the 
way of removals for opinion's sake. But 
Mr. Van Buren proceeded to do that 
little with the greatest promptitude 
and alacrity. From Senate Document 
No. 292, 3d session, 25th Congress, it 
appears that between the 4th of March, 
1837 to the 27th of February, 1839. Van 
Buren removed three hundred and 
sixty postmasters, and a corresponding 
number of officers were dismissed from 
other branches of the public service. 
He appointed none but partisans, none 
but Democratic reformers, to official 
position in the Government. 



PART IX. 

The Guillotine under the 
Whigs. 

Harrison's inauguration on March, 4, 
1841— "A change conies over the spirit 
of the dream" of the Whig leaders 
respecting Removals- Experience the 
impracticability of operating a Whig 
administration through Democratic 
Agents— Coerced to resort to the Guil- 
lotine— Their old Resolutions and 
Speeches quoted against them— The 
Democratic Reformers in their old 
rule of Indignants at Party Proscrip- 
tion. 

In the Presidential campaign of 1840, 
Martin Van Buren was retired from the 
Presidency. Gen'l Wm. II. Harrison, of 
Ohio, was elected President and John 
Tyler, of Virginia, Vice President. 
Now, a change came over the spirit of 
the dream of the Whig leaders respect- 
ing removals and appointments. Henry 
Clay was in the Senate. Three of their 
leaders most pronounced against party 
proscription , so called — against rem ovals 
from office for partisan opinions — 



134 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



wese summoned into the Cabinet. 
Daniel Webster as Secretary of State, 
Thomas Ewing as Secretary of the 
Treasury, and John Bell, of Tennessee, 
as Secretary of War ; and their acts are 
singular commentaries upon their pre- 
viously expressed opinions or dogmas 
respecting appointments and removals. 
They soon realized the fact that to 
operate a Whig administration through 
Democratic agents or agencies was 
practically impossible, even if they 
•were at liberty to try the experiment. 
But the pressure of administration ne- 
cessities, added to the demands of the 
party, coerced them into the course they 
had so often and so eloquently denoun- 
ced as unconstitutional and corrupt. 
The guillotine no w again began its venge- 
ful work. Hundreds were dismissed 
from office, and denunciation and clamor 
spread through the country. The Demo- 
cratic reformers now again assumed the 
role of indignants at party proscription, 
and the Whig leaders and organs had 
their resolutions and speeches and edi- 
torials quoted against them. They met 
the crisis boldly— even with resignation. 
Their courage at times rose almost to 
the heroic, and they evaded the shafts 
pointed by their own genius with adroit- 
ness and skill. 

Buchanan's resolution of June, 1841— 
The President requested to communi- 
cate to Senate all Removals from of- 
fice which had been made by himself 
and his Secretaries and Subordi- 
nates. 

In the Senate, on June 17, Hon. James 
Buchanan offered the following resolu- 
tion: 

Resolved, That the President of the United 
States be requested to cause to he communicated 
to the Senate a list of all ren ovals from of- 
fice or public employment of any kind what- 
soever which have been made by himself, or by 
the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, 
of the Navy, respectively, or by the Postmas- 
ter-General or Attorney-General, or under the 
authority of either, since the 4th day of March 
last, stating therein particularly the names of 
the persons removed, and the names of those 
appointed ; and that he be further requested to 
cause to be communicated to the Senate a list 
of all the removals from office or public em- 
ployment of any kind whatsoever which have 
been made since the 4th day of March last by 
the different collectors of customs or other of- 
ficers, whose removals and appointments are 
submitted to the Secretary of the Treasury for 
confirmation, stating therein particularly the 
names of the persons removed, and the names 
of those appointed ; and that he bo further re- 
quested to cause to be communicated to the 
Senate a list of all the removals from office or 
public employment of any kind whatsoever 
made by the deputy postmasters throughout 
the United States, whose compensation amounts 
to $2,000 and upwards, per annum stating there- 
in particularly the names of the persons re- 
moved and the names of those appointed. 

Debate in Senate upon Buchanan's Res- 
olution — Buchanan Quotes Henry 



Clay's Denial of Power in President to 
make Removals — Clay Rises to Ex- 
plain— He Maintains that under the 
Constitution the Right does Not Exist, 
but that in Law it Does Exist— Clay 
tells Buchanan : " We Cannot, Indeed, 
Sir, Consent to Allow Your Friends to 
Remain in Our Confidence " — Clay 
Mates the Principle, but Loves the 
Practice. 

In the course of Mr. Buchanan's speech 
in the Senate, in support of his resolu- 
tion, the following passage of arms took 
place : 

Mr. BUCHANAN. Never had the leaders of 
any party heen more solemnly committed on 
any doctrine than those of the Whig party were 
in their hostility to proscription. From the Sen- 
ator from Kentucky [Mr. Clay] down, they 
had all spoken the same language. That Sena- 
ator had repeatedly on this floor denied the ex- 
istence of the power of removal hy the Presi- 
dent under the Constitution. How eloquently 
had he declaimed against the maxim that, " to 
the victors belong the spoils." 

Mr. CLAY. Will the Senator from Pennsylva- 
nia allow me a word in explanation ? I have 
said that power does not belong to the Presi- 
dent, though it has grown into use. It has been 
a subject of legislation, and as such it is not 
questioned. 

Mr. BUCHANAN. The Senator from Ken- 
tucky, then, declares that under the Constitu- 
tion the ri.^ht does not exist, but that in law it 
does ; and that now, being in office, he would 
justify bis administration for its proscription, 
not by Constitutional but by legislative author- 
ity. Had he not, over and over ogain, de- 
nounced the late administration on the ground 
of proscription 1 

Mr. CLAY. I did, sir; but our practice now 
grows out of the necessity of our case. We can- 
not, indeed, sir, consent to allow your friends to 
remain in our confidence. 

Mr. BUCHANAN. The Senator, then, acknowl- 
edges that whilst lie hates the principle, lie loves 
the practice. 

Webster's Manifesto of March 20, 1841— 
It Forbids Partisan Interference in 
Flections, and all Assessments or 
Contributions to Political Purposes, 
«fcc— It Deceives No One — Its Purpose 
Readily Penetrated and Denounced by 
Democratic Senators£in Debate in Sen- 
ate— Even, Fihened to Alien. and Sedi- 
tion Laws. 

Department of State, 

March 20, 1841. 
To Hon. Thomas Ewing, 

Secretary of the Treasury : 
Sir : The President is of the opinion that it is 
a jrreat abuse to bring the patronage of the 
general government into conflict with the free- 
dom of elections, andthat this abuse ought to be 
corrected wherever it may have been permitted 
to exist, and to be prevented for the future. 

Hetheref ore directs that information be given 
to all officers and agents in your Department of 
the public service that partisan interference in 
popular elections, whether of State officers, or 
officers of this Government, and for whomso- 
ever or against whomsoever it may be exercised, 
or the payment of any contribution or assess- 
ment on salaries or official compensation for 
party or election purposes, will be regarded by 
him as cause of removal. 

It is not intended that any officer shall be re- 
strained in the free and proper expression and 
maintenance of his opinions respecting public 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



125 



men or public measures, or in the exercise, to 
the fullest degree, of the constitutional right of 
suffrage. But persons employed under tbe 
Government, and paid for their services out of 
the public Treasury, are not expected to take 
an active or officious part in attempts to influ- 
ence the minds or votes of others, such con- 
duct being deemed inconsistent with the spirit 
of the Constitution, and the duties of public 
agents acting under it ; and the President is 
resolved, so far as depends upon him, that 
while the exercise of the elective franchise by 
the people shall be free from undue influences 
of official station and authority, opinions shall 
also be free among the officers and agents of 
the Government. 

Similar letters have been addressed to other 
heads of departments. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient ser- 
vant, 

DANIEL WEBSTER. 

Payment of contributions or assess- 
ments f orparty purposes 1 Payments to 
whom? To the Whigs or Democrats? 
And at what election ! Was any pen- 
ding? The manifesto is dated March 
20, 1841. Harrison was inaugurated 
March 4, 1841, and the administration 
was consequently not three weeks old. 
Had any election occurred during that 
time? Had any Whig committee or 
organization during that time assessed 
or attempted to assess government em- 
ployees? Had any Whig or adminis- 
tration employee contributed to any 
election fund $ Were there any Whig 
or administration men in office ? For 
whom, then, if not for Whigs, was this 
manifesto intended ? Is it not plain ? 
It was made retroactive, too, to reach 
the people Webster was gunning for, 
the Democratic employees, who, at the 
previous Presidential election, had been 
assessed by the Democracy and had 
paid the assessment for the Van Buren 
campaign fund. The manifesto had 
been adopted in cabinet meeting and 
its publication was but a prelude to the 
guillotine. It deceived no one. Its 
purpose was readily penetrated. 

In the Senate, in the debate upon Mr. 
Buchanan's resolutions, Senator Mc- 
Eoberts, of Illinois, seized upon, ex- 
posed, and denounced it as equal in its 
tyrannical purpose to the Alien and 
Sedition law. He notices its retroac- 
tive intent. He said : 

And to crown all it is declared in the order 
[Webster's uianifento] that it shall have a retro- 
active operation. That its penalties shall be in- 
flicted for any violations that may have been 
permitted to exist. 

Mr. McRoberts declared the Alien and 
Sedition law, infamous as he regarded 
it, as less tyrannical and even more hu- 
mane than this "Webster edict." He 
argues : 

Let us compare the mode of executing this 
edict with the mode of carrying o ut the sedition 
law, odious, oppressive and unconstitutional 
as that law is admitted to be. The sedition act 
of 1798 required an indictment ; the accused had 
a right to a copy of the charge ; he had a right to 
introduce witnesses in his defence; the trial 



I was public, and the law applied only to viola- 
tions subsequent to its passage. 

How is it under this edict from the State De- 
partment I Why, sir, the accused is denied all 
knowledge of the complaint ; he is not allowed 
a copy ot the charge; he is not permitted to 
| cross-examine the witnesses ; the secrecy of the 
proceeding protects them from responsibility ; 
and the edict declares upon its face that per- 
sons shall be proscribed under it for what they 
may liave doue before it was issued. 

These are the striking differences in execu- 
ting the gag law of 1798 and the e:ag order of 
1841. 

Sir, we have all read of the odious laws of 
Draco and Dionysius, and odious as they were,, 
they were not retroactive. The Federal party 
of '98 oppressed the country in every conceiv- 
able way, but it is reserved to the Whig lead- 
ers of 1841 to add retroactive penal edicts to the 
catalogue. 

Senator Bayard and George William 
Curtis, our Democratic and Civil-Serv- 
ice reformers, in quoting this manifesto 
in support of their views, for the sake of 
Webster's great name, purposely con- 
ceal its origin, history, meaning, and 
purpose. Their work is a piece of char- 
acteristic mountebankism. 

Senator Franklin Pierce, after \va rds, in 
1853, President of the United States, 
Quotes. Against President of the Sen- 
ate Southard, Senator Southard, in 
1835, Denouncing Removals as Des- 
potic and Tyrannical — '* Can the Rus- 
sians Go Further ?— Can the Turks ?"— 
Questions the Answers to which Mr. 
Pierce Leaves to Southard's Friends 
in Power. 

Hon. Franklin Pierce, of New Hamp- 
t shire, afterwards President of the United 
I States, in the debate on Mr. Buchanan's. 
| resolution, also expressed his reproba- 
i tion of political proscription. In addres- 
! sing the President of the Senate, Mr. 
j Southard, of New Jersey, (a Whig,) he 
said: 

In the winter of 1834, in this chamber, you 
spoke as follows: "Mr. President : If there does 
now exist in this country a power which can, 
by its single volition and word, relieve officers 
acting under the Constitution and law- from 
their responsibility, and this with regard to the 
Treasury itself, we have already an absolute 
unincumbered despotism, beyond which no 
other can advance. What is despotism, but the 
existence, in the hands of a single individual, 
of the power and right to say to all subordinate 
agents, 'you are to act on my responsibility 
and opinion?' Can the Russians c:o further J 
Can the Turks !' " 

1 ' Questions," exclaimed Mr. Pierce, 
: "for the answer to which I will refer to 
I your Executive friends, who are filling 
your table from day to day with " I nom- 
inate in the place of removed." 

Frank Pierce also Quotes Against 
President Tyler in 1841 Senator Ty- 
ler in 1834— Tyler's Reprobation of the 
'•Spoils System ,? — Its Fatal Conse- 
quences — •• True, a President Cannot 
Evict the Judge, but, by His Power- 



126 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



Over the Marshal, lie can S»aclt the 

President Harrison was now dead, and 
his successor, President John Tyler, be- 
ing the wicked one who was thus filling 
Mr. Southard's table with proscriptive 
missives, Mr. Pierce quoted from a 
speech delivered by Mr. Tyler, in 1834, 
in the Senate, as follows : 

I mean only so far to express an opinion 
upon it (executive removals) as to say, that if 
properly exerted to get rid of incompetent or 
unfaithful agents, it is beneficial iu its results. 
But if used merely to reward favorites and to 
punish opponents— if the offices of the govern- 
ment shall be considered as spoils, to he distri- 
buted among a .victorious party — then, indeed, 
sir, the consequences are most fatal; ail stabil- 
ity in government is at an end. * * * Nor 
would there be a secure refuge in the courts of 
justice. True, he (the President) cannot evict 
the judge, but by his power over the marshal, 
he could pack the jury. 

Frank Pierce also Quotes IiCtter from 
E. Curtis, (a Progenitor of Geo. Wm. ?) 
Collector ol'NewYork,who Proscribes 
a Mere L,ad— The Democracy Never In- 
vaded the " Nursery "—It " Proscribed 
the Men, but Never Disturbed the In- 
fants"— It Worked Under No False 
Pretenses— It Preferred its Friends— It 
Had the Power and Chose to Exercise 
It—" What are you going: to do about 
it?" 

In the course of his speech, Mr. Pierce 
read a letter from E. Curtis, (an ances- 
tor of Geo. Win. Curtis?) collector of the 
port of New York, addressed to his chief 
clerk, to wit : 

My Dear Sir: I should be glad if you would 
employ the lad Charles Hunter in the place of 
Jefferson Young. 

I have reason to believe that the political 
principles of the lad are all right, and his ap- 
pointment would give satisfaction to the dis- 
trict, the ward, and the city in which he lives. 
Very respect lully yours, 

E. Curtis. 

June 3d, 1841. 

This lad, whose " political principles " 
were "all right," was thirteen years old. 
After reading this letter, Mr. Pierce ex- 
claimed : 

Now, Mr. President, "spoils party," as we 
were denounced to be from one end of this con- 
tinent to the other, I ask you, in all candor, did 
we ever invade the nursery ? * * * Falsehood, 
with all its tongues, never charged it ; detrac- 
tion, on this point, never assailed us. We re- 
moved the men, but we did not disturb the in- 
fants. * * * * 

Democratic administrations have turned out 
some— many, if you please— political opponents 
to give place to political friends; and on the 
single ground that they had the right and power 
to prefer their friends to their opponents. * * * 
But whatever was done by the late adminis- 
trations was not done under false preterses. 
We put forth no canting, hypocritical circulars, 
[no Webster manifestoes. J We stood before the 
nation and the world on the naked, unqualified 
ground that we preferred our friends to our op- 
ponents ; that to confer 2>lace was our privilege, 
which we chose to exercise. 



Secretary Ewing radically changes his 
Judgment in reference to Removals— 
The Treasury an "Augean Stable" 
which he thoroughly cleanses — Is ac- 
cused of being the Genius of the Guil- 
lotine—He and his compeers able men, 
but find it practically impossible to 
administer a Big Machine lilie the U. 
S. Government through Agents hos- 
tile to its Chiefs, either personally or 
in Principle. 

Secretary of the Treasury Ewing, 
who, as Senator, daring Jackson's reign, 
was the mover of a resolution in the 
Senate, denouncing removals as " hostile 
to the spirit of the Constitution," as 
" prejudicial to the public service," and 
" dangerous to the liberties of the 
people," radically changed his views in 
such matters when installed in the 
Treasury. He evidently regarded the 
Treasury as an " Augean Stable," the 
thorough cleansing of which was an 
imperative and patriotic duty. He per- 
formed the work with great energy, 
intelligence, and impartiality. So thor- 
oughly, indeed, that he was accused 
by the Democratic reformers of having 
a genius for proscription, and the 
Portsmouth", (N. H.) Gazette, in an 
article in May, 1841, and headed "ln- 
famous" declares that: 

Thomas Ewing, thirsting for the life-blood of 
his victims, actually removed Mr. Marston, the 
excellent keeper of the Newcastle lighthouse, on 
the very day that President Harrison lay a 
corpse. 

If any lucky Democratic reformer, 
any Pendleton or S. S. Cox, or even a 
George Wm. Curtis, in the Treasury, 
escaped him, it was purely accidental. 
Arbitrary removals of government em- 
ployees, for opinion's sake, were now, 
in his judgment, not " hostile to, but 
consonant with the spirit of the Consti- 
tution," were not "prejudicial to," but 
promotive of " the public service," and 
"not dangerous" but conservative "of 
the liberties of the people." Ewing 
agreed with Jackson, " we are never too 
old to learn," and the rough experience 
of actual contact with the administra- 
tive responsibilities and duties of a big 
machine like the Treasury was full of 
practical wisdom. Mr. Ewing was an 
able man. He was one of the ablest 
men of his day, but neither he, nor his 
compeers, and all were able men, 
could invent a system by which the 
Treasury or a great Government like 
that of the United States, could be ad- 
ministered successfully or beneficially 
through agents hostile to its chief, 
either personally or in principle. It is 
a practical impossibility. 

The Conservative [National Intelligen- 
cer, the Organ of the Whigs and the 
Ancient Enemy of Removals for po- 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



127 



litical reasons, Defends Proscrip- 
tion by the Whigs— Removals of Per- 
sonal and Political Opponents 
based on Common Sense and ordinary 
Prndence— No Man in private Life, in 
possession of a landed Estate or a mer- 
cantile House, or in command of a 
Ship, would retain under him men 
in whom he had no confidence. 

Even that conservative sheet, The 
National Intelligencer, the organ of the 
Whigs, and which daring Jackson's 
reign did such manly battle against 
"party proscription," was, in defense of 
the Whigs in 1841, forced to plead : 

* * * We are yet of the opinion that it is 
due to consistency, as well as to the known 
wishes of the popular majority which la-ought 
the present administration iuto power, that the 
reform of the abuses in the government 
should embrace persons as well as things; that 
the required change of measures should be ac- 
companied with such a change of officers as will 
produce harmony of action in the different de- 
partments of the government. * * * * This, 
it appears to us, is no more than what common 
sense and ordinary prudence require of every 
man inprivate life in the management of his af- 
fairs. No man, for example, coming to the 
head of a landed estate, of a manufactory, of a 
mercantile house, or the command of a ship- 
would retain in authority under him an over, 
seer, a foreman, a cashier, or mate, {and so also 
of inferior employments ) in whom he had no 
confidence. 



\ plated for tlie purpose of appointing a Whig. I 
I nave felt constrained, therefore, to revoke the 
I order for your appointment. I regret this oc- 
currence very much. Our short acquaintance 
had made a strong impression on my mind in 
your favor ; and i still believe that, personally, 
you are entitled to nry respect and esteem ; but 
under the circumstances, I cannot make the 
removal and appointment as I intended. 

I take pleasure in saying that your deport- 
ment throughout has been correct and honor- 
able. 

Yours, very respectfullv, 

K. ,J. WALKER. 
James L. Childress, Esq. 

No Whig need apply. None shall hold 
office under Democratic Reform. How- 
ever worthy or excellent in character 
and ability, they were not trustworthy 
agents for the Democracy. That was 
the spirit which animated the fraudu- 
lent tool of the pro-slavery oligarchy, 
James K. Polk, and his cabinet, all of 
his Democratic subordinates, and Whigs 
were busily hunted and ejected from 
place. 

Satanic Spirit of Proscription under 
Polk — Support of Mexican War a test* 
not merely of party fealty, but of 
Patriotism— A War Register pro- 
posed—Enroll the Tories— Perpetu- 
ate the record of the Traitors in every 
Town, Village or Hamlet—'* Moral 
Treason," «ftc. 



PART X. 

The Guillotine under Pres- 
ident James K. Polk. 

Wholesale Removals of Whigs— Xo 
Whig need apply— Xone shall be ap- 
pointed—Spirit of Democratic Reform 
in a letter of Robert J. Walker, Secre- 
tary of the Treasury. 

In the Presidential election of 1844 
Henry Clay was chosen by a decided 
majority of the popular vote honestly 
cast. But James K. Polk, of Tennessee, 
was fraudulently counted in. Under 
Polk, the guillotine again worked venge- 
fully. All Whigs were summarily ejec- 
ted from office, and their places tilled 
by Democratic Reformers. The spirit 
of Polk's guillotine may be iudged 
by the following letter of Robert J. 
Walker, Secretary of Treasury, to 
James L. Childress, whom lie had ap- 
pointed to a place in the Treasury under 
the belief that he was a Democrat : 

May 4, 1846. 
Dkar Sir : On Saturday last I directed your 
appointment to be made out. Since that period 
it has been made known to me that you are, 
and always have been, a whig. This was very 
unexpected intelligence to me. You never did 
represent yourself to me as a Democrat, but J 
tool; it for granted that such was the fact. It is 
impossible for me to make the removal contem- { 



One of the grand objects of the oli- 
garchy, or the Pro- slavery Propaganda, 
as it was called, in fraudulently forcing 
Polk upon the nation as President, was 
the seizure by conquest of a part of 
Mexico in aggrandizement or their 
slave tyranny — as a means of building 
up, with, the people's blood and treasure, 
a slave oligarchy strong enough with- 
in itself, to overthrow and de- 
stroy the government and nation. 
Hence, the war violently forced in 1846 
upon Mexico and fraudulently upon 
the American people. It forms the dark- 
est chapter in our history prior to the 
slaveholders' Rebellion. It was de- 
nounced by many as "unwise" and " un- 
holy" — as a "damnable war;" and its 
authors and abettors were held up to 
public execration. But the Demo- 
cracy North and South made its sup- 
port a test not merely of party fealty but 
even of patriotism. It proscribed with 
a ruthless hand all who opposed or 
were suspected of opposing the 
war. The intolerant spirit, the really 
satanic spirit, which at this period pos- 
sesed the Democracy, may be appreciated 
from the following proposition urged in 
the Ohio Patriot, of December 18, 1848, 

fmblished at Columbus, and one of the 
eading organs of the Democracy : 

A war register— Timely proposition.— It 
has been suggested that the cause of the coun- 
try may be promoted by the opening of a war 
register in every city, town, or village, for the 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



purpose of preserving an authentic record of 
the toryism which maj^ be displayed by indi- 
viduals during the continuance of the present 
war. In this regiser it is proposed to record 
the names of such personages as niake them- 
selves zealous in pleading the cause of the 
enemy, and oppose the war into which the peo- 

Sle and the Government of the United States 
ave been forced by Mexican aggression, insult, 
and robbery. Besides the names of the indi- 
viduals who pronounce against the justness of 
our cause, such sentiments as are particularly 
odious should be placed on the register. 
Where an individual expresses sympathy for 
the enemy, wishes the death of the President, 
or the downfall of the national administration, 
as a punishment for having engaged in the war, 
the sentiment of the tory should be registered in 
his own language as near as possible. All state- 
ments intended for entry on the record should 
be verified by the name of the witness or con- 
tributor. 

The above is a general outline of the plan. 
Such a record as it proposes will save much 
doubt and prevarication in a J ter years. Had 
such a i ecord beeen kept in 1812, the denials of 
those who opposed the war of that era woidd 
now avail theni nothing. We hope that our 
friends everywhere in Ohio will move in this 
matter without delay. 

Was not this a conception worthy of 
Beelzebub himself? Nevertheless, the 
Union, the national organ of the Dem- 
ocracy at Washington, in its issue of 
December 24, 1848, m an editorial titled 
" Antidote to Moral Treason," formally 
justifies this cold-blooded deviltry. 
It says : 

Those traitorous acts which may be per- 
formed, and those treasonable sentiments which 
may be promulgated, without an infringement 
of the criminal laws of the country, but are yet 
calculated and intended to give aid and com- 
fort to the enemy, bave been well treated as 
constituting " moral treason." 

There is no statute law in the United States 
for the punishment of "moral treason." Trait- 
ors may stalk abroad at mid-day, promulgating 
their treacherous sentiments with impunity, so 
lon< as they are guilty of no overt act. They 
may encourage the enemy through the press— 
they may denounce their own government as 
meriting the curse of God, aud proclaim the 
hostile country to be deserving of the prayers 
and sympathies of the world ; and yet this is 
not legal treason. They may advise and cheer 
the foe, at a distance ; they may join the adver- 
sary in head and heart ; but, nevertheless, they 
are amenable to no statute law so long as they 
keep their carcasses within the American lines. 
We now find thousands taking advantage of 
the leniency of our criminal code; and it is not 
improbable that Santa Anna's army would be 
some thousands stronger than at present, did 
not an act of Congress affix the punishment of 
hanging by the neck until dead to the offence 
of joining the enemy in person. 

The Union adds : 

We bespeak for the proposition of the Ohio 
editor the consideration of our friends gener- 
ally. The patriotic portion of the opposition 
will probably favor the project, as they may 
thereby escape odium, which, in the absence of 
evidence, may hereafter unjustly attach to their 
characters from the fact of being members of 
the Federal party. 

We have not space to give the facts 
in further detail. 



PART XL 

The Guillotine Again under 
the Whigs. 

General Taylor's Administration— He 
energetically ejects Democratic Re- 
formers— The Reformers Squeal in the 
Senate-Bradbury's Resolution— Doug- 
las's Speech on Removals—Democracy 
do not object to Removals— Oh, no — In 
themselves they are Proper and Right 
—But do object that they should be 
Made in a Manner to convey a charge 
of a want of "Honesty, Capacity, and 
Fidelity." 

In the Presidential campaign of 1848 
General Taylor, of Louisiana, a Whig, 
defeated General Lewis Cass, of 
Michigan, for the Presidency. Mil- 
lard Fillmore, of New York, was cho- 
sen Vice-President. General Taylor 
was inaugurated March 4, 1849, aud the 
whole Whig party, with great unanim- 
ity, rallied to the support of his admin - 
istration in the matter of removals, if 
not in that of 'appointments. Their 
wholesale proscription under Polk lired 
their hearts with enthusiasm for a new 
deal. 

Hon. John M. Claytou, of Delaware, as 
Secretary of State, and Hon. Thomas 
Ewing, as Secretary of the Interior, 
both of whom during the reign of Jack- 
son had eloquently reprobated partisan 
removals, were summoned into the Cab 
inet. Actual experience had taught 
them the utter impracticability of oper- 
ating a Whig administratiou tli rough 
Democratic agents. They therefore did 
not attempt it ; nor did their compeers 
in the Cabinet ; but all, supported by 
the President, immediately and actively 
began the restoration of "the former ef- 
ficient public servants," Whigs ejected 
by President Polk, to places under the 
Government. Truly, the guillotine 
worked vengefullj'-. Few Democratic 
reformers escaped. Nor had these re 
formers any ground for disappointment ; 
any just expectation to remain in office 
under General Taylor; for, upon the 
nomination of the General, they in a 
body waited upon Mr. Buchanan, Secre- 
tary of State, at Washington, and he 
warned them in the following language 
of what they might expect in the event 
of the General's election : 

Let no Democrat lay the flattering unction to 
hi-* soul that General Taylor's administration 
would not he a proscriptive Whig iidministra- 
tion. * * * A Whighimself, elected by Whigs, 
and surrounded hy a Whig Cabinet, he would 
he compelled, by the necessities of his position, 
to carry into effect Whig measures and Whig 
principles. Indeed he would prove faithless to 
his party if he were to pursue any other course. 

Nevertheless in the United States Sen- 
ate, at the session of 1849-'50, Mr. Brad- 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



120 



bury, of Maine, affecting great indigna- 
tion at what he calls the proscriptiye 
policy of General Taylor's administra- 
tion, introduced the following resolu- 
tion : 

Resolved, That the President be requested to 
cause to be laid before the Senate all charges 
which have been preferred or filed in any of the 
departments against individuals who have 
been removed from office since the 4th day of 
March, 1849, with a specification of the cases, if 
any, in which the officers charged have had op- 
portunity to be heard, and a statement of the 
number of removals made under each depart- 
ment, including subordinates in the custom- 
houses and other branches of public service. 

In the debate which ensued upon this 
resolution, Mr. Bradbury, manifestly 
sensible of the false position of a Dem- 
ocratic Senator reprobating party pro- 
scription, qualified it by declaring : 

It is not the policy of making removals that I 
assail or call in question. It is the inconsist- 
ency between the professions and practice of 
the party in power— the fraud of faith solemnly 
pledged "to know no party, and to make remov- 
als only for cause, followed by a general expul- 
sion of Democrats, with an imputation of delin- 
queucy thrown upon them. It is this of which 
I complain, and not of the propriety of an ad- 
ministration employing those favorable to its 
principles to carry out its measures. 

But Mr. Stephen A. Douglas, the "Lit- 
tle Giant" of Illinois, formulated the 
Democratic position on this resolution 
in his speech in the Senate of June 4, 
1850. In that he arraigns General Tay- 
lor's administration for wholesale re- 
movals of Democrats from office, not 
because he objects to removals, but only 
because they violate the previous 
pledges of General Taylor, during the 
Presidential campaign, that there should 
be under him uo merely partisan remov- 
als, and that all removals should be 
based on a want of "honesty, capacity, 
and fidelity" to the public service. Con- 
sequently, these removals, under such 
pledges, amounted "by implication" to 
a declaration that the officers ejected 
"were deficient in these requisites to 
fulfil their trusts." He urged: 

The crime consists in slandering the charac- 
ters of these men, and not in removing them 
from office. Sir, I make no complaint of their 
removal. I am willing that when Whigs have 
the administration they shall have ther own 
men in the offices, for which they are responsi- 
ble. 

******* 

You may take all the offices; you are wel- 
come to them ; make the best use you can of 
them while you are responsible for the faithful 
performance of their duties ; but do not slan- 
der better men than yourselves. * * * 

I repeat again that I do not complain that 
Democrats were removed We expected that 
they would be removed. * * * We ♦■xpected 
our friends to be removed; we were willing 
that they should be, and that Whigs should be 
put in their places. All that we asked was, 
that good Whigs— those who were honest and 
capable of filling the places vacated by the 
Democrats, should be installed into these of- 
fices. * * * Let this be done, and you will 
have no difficulty in having my vote to con- 



firm the nominations wi ! hout inquiring whet her 
they were active partisans or not. I am will- 
ing that you shou' I reward your faithful and 
active men ; but i is not necessary, in order to 
do justice to them, that you should do injustice 
to our friends. 

But that position was simply a clever 
ruse, an ingenious flank movement, of 
the Democracy, to enable them to assail 
General Taylor's removals without in- 
volving themselves in inconsistency. 
General Taylor had made no pledge of 
the kind, and the Democracy had been 
fully warned by Mr. Buchanan, in the 
extract quoted above, that General Tay- 
lor would remove all Democrats from 
office ; that such a course would be nec- 
essary "to carry into effect Whig meas- 
ures and Whig principles," and that 
if General Taylor pursued any other 
course "he would prove faithless to his 
party." 



PART XII. 

The Guillotine Under 
Pierce and Rucl&anan. 

Reig*n of Slavery— Corruption Divide* 
the Throne with Slavery — Win. I,. 
Marcy, Author of the Maxim that "To 
the Victors Belong: the Spoils," made 
Secretary of State— The Guillotine 
Now Worked by Men who Delighted 
in Proscription for the Sake of Plun- 
der — The Fearful Corruption and 
Abuses of the Appointing- Power. 

In the Presidential campaign of 1852 
General Franklin Pierce, of New Hamp- 
shire, defeated General Winfield Scott, 
of Virginia, for President, and the 
Whigs, as a party, disappeared from our 
politics. Wm. K. King, of Alabama, 
was chosen Vice-President. General 
Pierce was elected by a great majority 
in the electoral colleges — receiving 25 i 
votes, and General Scott only 42. 

In the Presidential campaign of 1856, 
Hon. James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, 
through fraud and fraudulent counting, 
defeated the first Republican candidate, 
General John C. Fremont, for the Pres- 
idency. Hon. John C. Breckinridge was 
chosen Vice-President. 

Pierce's administration soon develop- 
ed into a tyrannical reign of the slave- 
holder, and opened the turbulent period 
which extended through his own and 
Buchanan's administration, and culmi- 
nated in the rebellion. 

In 1841, in the Senate, in the debate 
upon Mr. Buchanan's resolution, Mr. 
Pierce, who was then a United States 
Senator, as will be seen by reference to 
our brief sketch of that debate, con- 
demned partisan removals in the strong- 
est language. As President, he had a 
change of heart. Wm. L. Marcy, of 



130 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



New York, who, in 1832, in the Senate, 
formulated the proscriptive doctrines of 
Democratic reform, into the maxim that 
"to the victors belong the spoils," was 
appointed Secretary of State, and the 
guillotine was now worked by men who 
delighted in proscription as a source of 
plunder. All Whigs, all Union men, 
were removed or excluded from office. 
Adhesion to slavery, servility to and an 
active partisanship of the pro-slavery ol- 
igarchy and its violent and unconstitu- 
tional measures or decrees for its ag- 
grandizement, were made the grand 
tests of party fealty, and were the only 
passports to executive favor. Nor only 
that. United States Senators were for- 
mally warned by the party organ — the 
Union — at Washington, that, in the mat- 
ter of the President's nominations to of- 
fice, unless a vote of rejection was based 
on solid, sound, or tenable grounds, of 
which the President and his cabinet ad- 
visers were to be the judge, recreant 
Senators "should have reason for per- 
sonal and political regret forever." Ver- 
ily, Slavery was King! 

Thus, Pierce's and Buchanan's reigns, 
for they were nothing else, were reigns 
of slavery — violent, corrupt, tyrannical 
and sanguinary. Corruption, indeed, di- 
vided the throne with Slavery. The 
executive patronage, both in the matter 
of removals and appointments, with the 
plunder of a thousand corrupt jobs, were 
openly used to debauch the elective fran- 
chise in the Stat es, to stifle the will of 
the majority, and bribe Congress in the 
passage of viol ent and unconstitutional 
measures, such as the Lecompton, for 
the conquest of Kansas — to violently 
suppress freedom in a Territory against 
an overwhelming majority of its people. 
Such a condition of the State was only 
possible to Democratic reform. For a 
time it had practically no opponent. The 
Whig party was dead. Its death had 
been hurried by its division upon the 
question of slavery, and the American 
party, which had out a brief life, was 
also divided on the question. The re- 
peal of the Missouri Compromise, how- 
ever, gave birth to the Republican party 
upon a platform of freedom in the Ter- 
ritor ies. 

Now, the departments were searched 

for sympathizers with this new party 
arrayed against Democratic reform in 
support of slavery. A vile system of 
espionage was instituted throughout all 
the ramifications of the government, and 
all suspecte d or tainted with the heresy 
of Republicanism — with the heresy of 
Freedom — were denounced as Black Re- 
publicans. They were ostracised so- 
cially, denounced as political lepers, a 
price was practically placed upon their 
heads, as upon a wolf's, and they were 
systematically hunted from government 
places. In the preceding pages, in our 
chapter on Political Assessments, we 



expose from the original files of the In- 
terior Department, much of this infa- 
mous work. Let us now produce some 
extracts from one of the numerous Con- 
gressional reports into the shameful 
abuses and corruptions of the appoint- 
ing power under Pierce and Buchanan. 
We quote fr@m H. R. 184, 35th Con- 
gress, 1st session. In describing the dis- 
graceful details of these abuses at the 
Brooklyn navy yard, it says : 

Corruption at Brooklyn Navy- Yard- 
Patronage of Yard Divided Among 
Members of Congress— The Yard Re- 
duced to a Mere Political Machine- 
Its Abuses and Corruptions— Day La- 
borers at $1.12 1-2 per I>ay Assessed to 
Meet Election Expenses— Taxed to 
Purchase "Voluntary Gifts" of 
Watches, Diamond Breast-pins, etc., 
to Bosses— These Abuses Supported by 
Arrangements at Washington. 

The divison of patronage among members [of 
Congress] was well known in the yard. Each 
master workman understood to whom he and 
each of his fellows owed their places. Thus the 
construction engineer, the master plumber, and 
the master blockmaker, represented Mr. Sickles; 
the master painter represented Mr. Searing; the 
master spar-maker master blacksmith, and tim- 
ber inspector represented Mr. Maclay ; the mas- 
ter laborer, under the construction engineer, 
the master boat-builder, and the master ship- 
carpenter represented Mr. Taylor ; the master 
caulker represented Mr. Cochrane; and the mas- 
ter stone-cutter represented Mr. Ward. Until 
May, 1858, the master laborer, under the con- 
structing engineer, represented Mr. Clark, and 
the master carpenter represented Mr. Haskin, 
and so with all the heads of the departments of 
labor in the yard at Brooklyn. * . * * 

Lawrence Cohane was appointed master car- 
penter, upon the nomination of Mr. Haskin, in 
the general division of patronage. He was re- 
moved on the 9th of June, 1858, on account of 
Mr. Haskin's course upon the Lecompton con- 
stitution. [He opposed it.] Alexander Ward 
was appointed in October, 1857, for Mr. Clark ; 
and in May, 1858, after Mr. Clark had taken posi- 
tion upon the Kansas question, he resigned. He 
states that he wanted to use his influence for 
the renomination of Mr. Clark, and he knew 
that if he did so, and still remained in the yard, 
he would subject himself to being removed. 
Rather than that, he preferred to leave himself. 
These places were then given to Mr. Taylor. 

Each master workman selected all the work- 
men under him, and upon his requisition the 
number was increased or diminished, he nam- 
ing those to be selected or discharged. * * * 

This system, added to the abuses previously 
existing, has reduced the navy-yard to a mere 
political machine, where idleness, theft, insub- 
ordination, fraud, and gross neglect of duty 
prevailed to an alarming degree. Members oc 
Congress, officers of the yard, both naval and 
civil, master workmen, contractors and labor- 
ers, have all testified to many abuses. 

The natural result followed : many of them 
employed were of an inferior class of men. With 
rare exceptions good workmen would not hum- 
ble themselves to seek from a politician a job of 
work when they could get it elsewhere. A master 
workman testified that the poorest workmen 
were pressed upon him with the most perti- 
nacity. Romeo Fraganza, one of the master 
workmen, writes the department on date of 
August 5, 1858. "In eight congressional districts 
who claim the patronage of the yard, in nine 
cases out of ten the m<m who are trenuously rec- 
ommended are very indifferent hands, many of 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



131 



whorn cannot obtain employment from private 
employers." Men from the laborers' gang, "who 
knew nothing about painting, were ranked as 
first-class painters, others as blacksmiths, &c. ; 
and so ou in different departments. Laborers 
were employed to act as clerks and to work as 
carpenters. 

Worthless persons, old men, physically unable 
to work, "primaries," &c, were sent by mem- 
bers of Congress to master workmen, often 
merely to get rid of their importunities, and they 
were taken into the several departments, untd 
their unfitness was palpable, and even then in 
some cases partisan services outweighed public 
interests. The only department in which the 
commandant of the yard had a right to appoint 
the men was the riggers' and the sailmakers' 
department, usually sailors working under war- 
rant officers of the navy. Commander Rootes 
was applied to by members of Congress to put 
certain men even in their places, and in some 
instances he complied. 

A system of appointment so vicious could 
not but produce disastrous results. Master 
workmen neglected their duty. The master of 
laborers testified that some time after his ap- 
pointment lie continued his business as a tin- 
emith, two miles from the yard, and attended in 
the yard about two hours a day. Many of these 
master workmen transferred to clerks and 
quartenuen duties they should have performed 
themselves. A general concurrence of many 
witnesses conclusively proves that the work 
done by the laborers in the yard did not exceed 
two-t birds of that done for private individu- 

How far, or whether employments were sold 
in the yard, your committee have not been able 
to ascertain. Master workmen testify tint of- 
fers of money were frequently made to them for 
employment, but they refused, and direct bri- 
bery could hardly be practiced without ex- 
posure. The same offence, however, was re- 
peatedly committed in another way. The master 
workmen received presents, or "testimonials" 
as they were called, from the workmen. This 
practice was common ; watches, diamond 
breastpins, and the like, are the usual gratui- 
ties. They were paid for by contributions levied 
upon the men under them, nominally as volun- 
tary gifts, but really under the fear of removal. 
The master painter, when appointed, was asked 
by Captain Rootes if he knew his duty. 

"He said it was to set a good example to the 
men and keep them to their duty, -further,' 
said he, Captain Rootes there are not three men 
in the yard who do the duty of one," alluding, 
as I suppose, to the painters. I said to him : 
That is the ooinion of more than yourself , and I 
am glad to hear you say wliatyoudo; T hope 
when .vou come inhere you will set them a good 
example, yet, within two or three weeks after 
that, my attention was drawn by some person 
saying that this same master workman was re- 
ceiving a gold watch from the men in his em- 
ploy." 

This watch cost the laborers $175, all of which 
was paid by the workingmen in the painters' 
department. * * * 

A short time afterwards a contribution of 
ninety dollars was collected from the men to 
pay Mr. Turner's expenses to Washington, un- 
der the pretext th »t he could get the pay of the 
men raised. Still another* collection of fifty-eight 
or'sixty dollars was taken to defray election ex- 
penses. All these contributions were collected 
between April 1, 1858, and the November elec- 
tion, and from common workmen, whose wages 
were alleged to be inadequate. Master workmen 
testified before your committee with their 
"testimonials" on theirpersons. 

These abuses increased in the yard as the 
election for members of Congress approached. 
Members [of Congress], master workmen, all 
were interested in packing the yard. If the 
master workman was reluctant to increase his 
force, he was urged to do so by the members of 
Congress, and was compelled to yield to the de- 
mand. In this way the master blacksmith in- 



creased his force twenty-five men. He testified 
that the same general increase, for the same 
reason, occurred throughout the yard in all the 
different departments ; and that of the force of 
about 2,400 men thus employed, one-fourth 
were useless; that it was understood that par- 
ticular master workmen were to administer 
their patronage for the benefit of particular 
members, &c, &c &c. 

Comment would be superfluous. 

Let us add to these shameful details of 
corruption and abuses in the navy-yards 
an extract from a Philadelphia paper — 
the Sunday Dispatch — in 1860 — showing 
what was expected of the disciplined 
employees of all grades under these pro- 
slavery Democratic reigns, and how they 
performed their parts. The article is 
headed " The Voice of the People ! "— 
' Intense Excitement among Office- 
Hunters and Office-Holders ! " 

Office-holders Spontaneously Uttering 
the Voice of the People— They Rally to 
the Support of Lecompton — All the 
44 Unterrified " in Arms — Slavery to 
the Front; Freedom to the Rear— A 
List of their Patriotic Names— Enthu- 
siastic in Vindication of the " Old 
Pub. Fane." 

The Dispatch says : 

The loyal Pennsylvanian and the courtly Ar- 
gus last week published a call for a mass meet 
mg of the Democracy at Jayne's Hall, to "en- 
dorse" President Buchanan's policy of coercing 
the people of Kansas into submission to the anti- 
Republican Lecompton Constitution. This af- 
fair was offered to the Jacks-in-office, and the 
Jacks who would like to be there, glorious op- 
portunities of displaying their lackey ism to the 
Administration, and their entire abasement to 
the powers that be. The list of names published 
by the Pennsylvanian has three noticeable pe- 
culiarities : First, that the Custom-House, Post- 
Office, Mint, and Navy Yard are out in fearful 
array ; second, that the eagerness of candidates 
for future favors is most plainly set forth ; third, 
that in order to make the list respectable in 
point of size, the dodge of repeating the same 
names twice and three times is extensively re- 
sorted to. Thus, the name of " Jno. F. Stump" 
appears three times ; " Robert P. Christy " is 
printed twice; " JohnG. Ringland " votes twice 
for Buchanan ; and twenty or thirty others are 
similarly reduplicated. By such means the list 
is made to stretch out to the length of a column; 
and the defection of the large number of mem- 
bers of the Democratic party who would not 
sign the call is glossed over. 

The task of getting up this grand demonstra- 
tion is said to be the work of Mr. District Attor- 
ney Vandyke, whose devotion to the Adminis- 
tration when it is in the wrong may perhaps in- 
sure his reappointment to his present snug of- 
fice. * * * 

From the names attached to the call of the 
meeting, we select the following as the most 
prominent. There is a large number of names 
of the occupants of small-fry offices under the 
National, State, and City governments, to whom 
we have not thought it worth while to mention. 
It is sufficient to say that, after deducting the 
names printed twice and thrice, there is scarcely 
apersonleft who has not held office, who does not 
hold office now, or who has not an earnest desire 
to hold office hereafter. Benold these disinter- 
ested advocates of the Kansas wrong who as- 
sume to speak for the free Democracy of Phila- 
dephia : 

Joseph B. Baker, Collector of the Port. 



132 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



Gideon G. Westcott, Postmaster, not yet con- 
firmed. 

Chambers McKibbin, Naval Officer. 

John Hamilton, Jr., Surveyor of the Port. 

Joseph Severns, Naval Storekeeper. 

James C. Vandyke. United States District At- 
torney. 

George K. Berrell. United States Appraiser, 
candidate for Sheriff. 

William S. Winsliip, Deputy Surveyor United 
States. 

William V. McKean. Chief Clerk Post Office. 

John Miller, ex-Postmaste^.candidate for State 
Treasurer, Director of the Mint, or anything the 
President may give that will pay. 

John Bobbins. ex-Member Congress, candi- 
date for State Treasurer, Director of the Mint, 
or anything the President may give that will 
pay. 

Arthur Hughes, ex-Mail Agent, candidate for 
Health Officer under Packer. 

William V. McGrath, ex- Appraiser, City Treas- 
urer, of the John Miller school. 

Jesse Johnson, Stamp Agent United States, 
candidate for reappointment. 

Frank Campbell,candidate for Appraiser under 
Judge Ludlow. 

Washington Bigler, Day Inspector, candidate 
for reappointment. 

T. H. Forsyth, Assistant Weigher. Custom 
House, contractor on the new Post Office. 

Samuel King, Day Inspector. 

S. D. Anderson, ex-Pension Agent. 

Edward Dunn, ex-Letter-Carfier, new Clerk 
under J. P. McFadden. 

Robert T. Carter, Alderman. 

Alfred Schofield, Day Inspector. 

David McVeigh, Night Inspector. 

A. J. Webster, Clerk, Sheriff's office, candidate 
for Sheriff. 

W. B. Ranken, candidate for District Attor- 
ney in place of Vandyke. 

Jacob Plucker, in United States Mint. 

John Crawford, cx-bargeman, now Sergeant of 
Police. 

Samuel Rce, Sub-Post-office driver, brother 
of John Rice and William Rice. 

Wm. Loughlin, Appraiser's Department, U. S. 

Gfo. Pitt, Clerk U. S. Circuit Court, candi- 
date for Marshal District l oluinbia. 

Robert Tyler, Prothonotary Supreme Court, 
wants a foreign mission if he can get it. 

John G. Brenner, Dictator of Custom-House 
appointments, Contractor for Navy Depart- 
ment. 

W. H. Witte, wants to be Governor. 

John Po: ter, U. S. Mint. 

V. L. Bradford, wanted to be Judge; will take 
anything. 

J. C. Vandyke, U. S. District Attorney. 

T. McDonough, boss-blacksmith, Navy- Yard, 
President '-Molly Maguires." 

C. W. Carrigan, Register of Wills, prospective 
candidate for Congress. 

A. Brumacker, Day Inspector. 

Wm. Rice, U. S. printing, and all he can get. 

Peter Rambo, U. S. Postmaster, Kensington. 

Thomas I. Timmins, U. S. Deputy Marshal. 

John J. Ringland, Day Inspector [see evidence 
District Attorney case.] 

Chas. Brady, Mail Agent. 

Pat. McDonough, Tipstave, Supreme Court, 
and City Supervisor. 

Wm. McDevitt, Clerk, P. O. 

John C. Yeager, candidate for Inspector U. S. 
coal. 

Horace Martin, Assistant Clerk of Council. 

N. H. Murphy, Clerk City Treasury. 

B. C. Broclie, P. O. 

The. Ellis, Custom-House, Day Inspector. 

Jacob Walters, Night Inspector. 

E. P. Lescuie, Custom-House. 

John McComb, laborer in U. S. Mint, wants to 
be Crier in Common Pleas. 

Andrew Miller, ex-Recorder of Deeds, candi- 
date for Judge. 

Samuel Pleasant, Appraiser Custom-Hous 

Thomas C. May bury, Appraiser Custom- 
House. I 



William K. Wentz, employee Custom House. 

James McDevitt, Navy Pension Agenr. 

Samuel Walters, Legislature. 

WilUam O. Kline, candid te for Leather In- 
spector. 

Thomas H. Town, job printer for Government 
officers. 

C. B. F. O'Neill, Common Council, ex-candi- 
date Clerk Orphan's Court. 

James Campbell, ex-Postmaster-General. 

E. W. Power, Custom-House. 

Thomas McDonough, Custom-House. 

Jacob Peters, ex-candidate for Sheriff. 

Isaac Wayne Olwine, applicant for Clerk Dis- 
trict Court. 

Peter Cullen, President Equitable Mutual In- 
surance Company. 

Theophilus Fisk, editor Evening Argus, ex-lec- 
turer on psychology. 

John H Bryant, Clerk to Naval Storekeeper. 

Frank Cassidj% boss in the Navy Yard. 

John Campbell, ex-candidate for Clerk Or- 
phans' Court. 

A. R. Fenner, Coroner. 

Chas. Brown, ($190?) 

John A. Morrison, U. S. Inspector of Drugs. 

H. J. Fougeray, Messenger to Counoils— ap- 
plicant for Assistant Doorkeeper Congress, 
Washington. 

John E. Ziegler, U. S. Mail Agent. 

John F. South, Post Office. 

John Chambers, ("War Horse?") 

Gibbons Marsh, Post Office. 

John Rice, Contractor for Post Office, author 
of "the Monster Hotel folly," hero of "the Rice 
Job," etc. 

John K. Loughlin, Custom-House, ex-candi- 
date Prothonotary District Court. 

John K. Hammitt, applicant for contract to 
build a sloop-of-war. 

Samuel C. Thompson, Clerk of the Market, 
City. 

Geo. M. Wharton, President Select Council. 

Thos. B. Town, member of the Board of 
Health. 

Oscar Durang, Post Office. 

Wm. B verly, Sergeant of Police. 

Terence Monaghan,(see evidence District At- 
torney case.) 

And a hundred others, all office-holders in the 
custom-house, postoffice, &c. 

The Notorious Wendell's Immense 
Plunder through the Public Printing* 
— He Shares the " Swag- " with the 
Democratic Reformers — His liberal 
Contributions Disbursed under the 
Advice of President Buchanan— The 
Sabbath devoted by Buchanan and 
Wendell to Discussions as to Best Dis- 
position of " Swag "—Disbursed in De- 
bauching flections, «fcc. 

Cornelius Wendell, from 1857 to 1861, 
in one form or another, either as Public 
Printer, or as contractor with the Public 
Printer who was elected by the two 
Houses of Congress, had possession of 
the Government printing, the great 
plunder job of Pierce's and Buchanan's 
administrations. His bills for printing 
were enormous. Many charged that 
they were fraudulent, and by his own 
confession under oath his profits or 
plunder was immense. This "swag" he 
generously shared with the party. His 
contributions were many and liberal, 
both for the corruption of Congress and 
electors in the States, and these he dis- 
bursed mainly under the advice of Pres- 
ident Buchanan. In his testimony in 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



133 



1860, before the Covode Committee, (see 
H. R. 648, 36th Cong., 1st sees.,) Wen- 
dell swears : 

Q. I wish to ask you a few further questions 
concerning the elections in Pennsylvania. When 
you had interviews to ith Mr. Buchanan previous 
to the elections in Pennsylvania in 1858, did you 
not freely talk with him in regard to the use of 
moner to carry certain districts ? 

A. I talked with him freely as to the use of money 
in elections; I do not remember as to any spe- 
cific districts ; I talked about the expenses of 
elections generally, the large amounts used ; yes , 
sir. 

Q. Did you not tell him you were compelled to 
use large amounts of money ? 

A. I cannot say that I to d him I was com- 
pelled. 

Q. That you were using large amounts of 
money 1 

A. He was cognizant of the fact that I con- 
tributed largely for elections. 

Q. You had conversations with him upon that 
subject ? 

A. It was the subject of conversation at differ- 
ent times, the amounts that I contributed. 

Q. What was the character of the several letters 
from Pennsylvania that he read you portions of 
during one of the interviews you had with him 
about carrying certain districts? How was it 
to be done ? 

A. I think the most of them wanted material 
aid ; they made suggestions as to aid required 
in diffe ent districts generally, and the political 
affairs of their several districts. 

a, Why did he call your attention to those letters 
ing lor that kind of aid? Was it because he 
expected you to attend to it % 

A. Well, I do not know, indeed, what the mo- 
tive was; our conversations were generally 
about politics and the contest going on, and the 
letters might have been shown in conversations, 
which in those days were generally political; 
almost always, I might say; my conversations 
with him were always of apolitical character. 

Q. On what occasion was it that you had 
these long interviews with him ; was it not im- 
mediately before the election, and relative to the 
means to be made use of to carry the elections ? 

A. Well, I could not say : I had them at differ- 
ent times. I presume that during the time of 
elections I had- some long interviews, and again at 
other times. I do not call to mind any particu- 
lar date when these interviews were held. They 
were held at different times during all my inti- 
macy with him. 

Q. On what days of the week did you have long 
interviews with him ? Can you recollect 1 

A. Pretty much every day, I should presume. 
I do not remember any particular day of the 
week. 

Mr. Olin, (to the Chairman.) Do you suppose 
he took Sundays for that purpose ? 

The Witness I have had interviews with him 
on Sundays. 

By the Chairman : 

Q. Was it not your habit previous to the elec- 
tion to spend the Sabbath day with Mr. Buchanan, 
conversing freely upon political matters, and 
particularly with regard to the use of money to 
carry elections ? 

A. I cannot say it was a usual habit. I saw 
him on Sundays; I could not say how many. 

Q. I am referring to immediately preceding 
the elections. 

A. Yes. sir; I may have seen him on one or two 
Sabbaths immediately preceding the fall election 
of 1858. 

Q. On those occasions had you conversations 
with him on that subject ? 

A. Conversations on politics 1 

Q. In con nection wit?} money matters. 

A. The expenses of the elections would usual- 
ly come up during the conversation. 

Q. Did Mr. Buchanan object to carrying elec- 
tions or helping to carry them in that way? 

A. Never to me. 



PART XIII. 

Removals and Appoint- 
ments under Presidents 
Garfield and Arthur. 

Relative Ratio of Removals or Changes 
by Presidents Garfield and Arthur. 

General Garfield occupied the Presidential 
chan- something less than four months. 

During the special session of the Senate, com- 
mencing March 4, 1881, and ending May 20, 1881, 
President Garfield made two hundred and sixty- 
six reappointments and fifty-one removals. 
During the recess of the Senate he made thirty- 
five reappointments and thirty-eight removals ; 
in all three hundred and one reappointments 
and eighty-nine removals. Of the changes in 
office made by President Garfield over 22 per cent. 
were removals from office. During the ten 
months of his administration President Arthur 
has made eight hundred and seventy -four ap- 
pointnn n s to office, of which the number of re- 
movals is forty nine : or 5 per cent, of removals 
as against 22 per cent, of removals made by his 
worthy predecessor. 

Only five Removals, two for Defalca- 
tion, by President Arthur in Penn- 
sylvania. 

There are in the State of Pennsylvania ol 
Presidential offices one hundred and eighty- 
six ; of Federal offices, appointments, &c, 8,847. 
Now of the one hundred and eighty-six Presiden- 
tial appointments, how many changes— remov- 
als— do j'ou suppose President Arthur has 
made? One hundred ? No. Seventy five? No. 
Pity? No. Twenty? No. Ten? No. He has 
made five out of the one hundred and eighty- 
six, and two of the five were for violations oi 
the statutes. Of the five mentioned, three 
were postmasters, two of them removed be- 
cause thev -were defaulters. 

Only five Removals, two for Cause, by 
President Arthur in XewjYorh— Only 
one in Ohio. 

In the State of New York there are two hun- 
dred and seventy-six Presidential appoint- 
ments. Of the two hundred and seventy-six 
Presidential offices in the State of New York 
(there being 3,098 Federal appointments alto- 
gether) President Arthur has made five changes, 
two of them removals for cause. Thus, he has 
made only three removals out of the two hundred 
and seventy-six Presidential appointments in 
the State of New York. 

In Ohio, of the one hundred and forty-five 
Presidential offices one removal has been made. 

No Administration from George Wash- 
ington down to this hour more con- 
siderate for the Public Service. 

In the history of no administration from 
George Washington down to this hour has there 
ever been more considerate regard for the pub- 
lic service as disclosed by the public records. 

Tables showing the Removals, Ap- 
pointments, &c, respectively , by 
Presidents Garfield and Arthur. 

The following tables exhibit the re- 
movals or changes which have been 
made from March 4, 1881, to this time : 



184 APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 

Appointments by President Garfield. Appointments under President Artbur 



Maine 

New Hampshire 

Vermont 

Massachusetts 

Rhode Island 

Connec Lieut 

New York 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

Maryland 

District of Columbia 

Virginia 

West Virginia 

North Carolina 

South Carolina 

Georgia 

Florida 

Alabama 

Mississippi 

Louisiana 

Texas 

Ohio 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Kentucky 

Tennessee 

Michigan 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Iowa 

Missouri 

Arkansas 

Kansas 

Nebraska 

California 1 

Oregon 

Colorado 

Dakota 

Montana 

Idaho 

Washington 

Wyoming 

Utah 

Arizona 

New Mexico 

Indian Territory 

Diplomatic and miscella 
neous 



Total 



40 



Maine 

New Hampshire 

Vermont 

Massachusetts 

Rhode Island 

Connecticut 

New York 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

Delaware 

Maryland . 

District of Columbia. 

Virginia 

West Virginia 

North Carolina 

South Carolina 

Georgia 

Florida 

Alabama 

Mississippi 

Louisiana 

Texas., 

Ohio 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Kentucky 

Tennessee 

Michigan... 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Iowa 

Missouri 

Arkansas 

Kansas 

.Nebraska 

California 

Oregon 

Nevada 

Colorado 

Dakota 

Montana 

Idaho 

Washington 

Wyoming 

Utah 

Arizona 

New Mexico 

Indian Territory 

Alaska 

Miscellaneous 



Total 



428 



78 



10 



40 



Recapitulation. 



Reappoint- 
ments and 

to fill 
vacancies. 



Remov- 
als. 



Nominations by President Garfield during special session of Sennte com- 
mencing March 4, 1881 ending May 20, 1881 

Appointments by President Garfield during recess 



266 
35 



Percentage of removals by President Garfield, 22 

Nominations by President Arthur during special and regular sessions — 
Percentage of removals by President Arthur, .05 

Pennsylvania Presidential offices 186 

New York Presidential offices 276 

Ohio Presidential offices 145 



301 



4e> 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



135 



President Arthur Renominates Presi- 
dent Garfield's Nominees — No Re- 
movals in over Two-thirds of the 
States. 

It further appears by the records that 
of eighty-five Dominations made by the 
late President Garfield, President Ar- 
thur sent in every name bat thirteen, 
thus following in the footsteps of his 
predecessor as nearly as possible, while 
allowing himself some independence of 
judgment, being responsible to the peo- 
ple for the proper administration of his 
office. 



PART XIV. 

Brief Review of the Fore- 
going Sketch of Appoint- 
ments and Removals. 

Utter Impracticability of Admin ster- 
ing- the Government l>y one Party 
Through Agents Appointed by or 
from Another and Hostile Party — 
Practical Experience Coerces Wash- 
ington to Adopt the Rule of Appoint- 
ing None but those in Sympathy with 
the Plan and Purposes of his Admin- 
istration—All Parties forced to follow 
Washington's Example— To Rely for 
their Administrations Only Upon the 
Supporters of their Measures and 
Principles. 

In the foregoing skeleton sketch of 
appointments and removals, or of the 
exercise of the appointing power, under 
all parties from the beginning of the 
government, we have, while exposing 
their corrupt character in some instan- 
ces, as under Jackson and Pierce and 
Buchanan, tried to bring out the facts 
or principles upon which they were 
based. One thing we think is clearly 
proved, and that is, the utter impracti- 
cability of the agents of one party oper- 
ating a government through the agents 
of an opposite party. George Wash- 
ington, our first President, experienced 
its impracticability. His cabinet at first 
was divided. Hamilton and Knox were 
Federalists, and Jefferson and Randolph 
were Republicans. They agreed in noth- 
ing. Jefferson and Randolph notori- 
ously abused their trusts, labored to 
thwart the policy of Washington's ad- 
ministration and to injure it in the esti- 
mation of the people. Jefferson actually 
appointed and retained in office, in de- 
spite of Washington, some of the libelers 
of the President. Jefferson finally found 
it expedient to resign. Randolph was 
forced to retire in disgrace, and Wash- 
ington was compelled to adopt the rule 
of never appointing to office "any man 
not in sympathy with the plan ana pur- 



poses and the objects" of his adminis- 
tration. Experience had taught him 
that the opposite course was " political 
suicide." 

All subsequent experience verifies 
that of Washington's. There can be no 
confidence between these opposite sets of 
agents — no sympathy or harmony of ac- 
tion and purpose, but a state of conflict 
between them must always more or 
less exist, and the worst results follow. 
As a matter of fact the Democracy, and 
always under the slogan of reform, in- 
troduced removals from office for merely 
partisan purposes. " To the victors be- 
long the spoils." With them corruption 
and proscription were twins, and the odi- 
um of their corrupt administrations were 
reflected upon their exercise of the ap- 
pointing power. Their sin was that 
they selected corrupt instead of honest 
agents. Hence, the Whigs found the 
exercise of the power absolutely neces- 
sary to a successful administration of 
the government. When out of power, 
and without actual experience in control 
of the machinery of the government, 
some of their ablest men, like Clay and 
Webster and Ewing, speculating theo- 
retically upon a practice wholly novel 
at the time in our history, eloquently 
condemned the practice as opposed to 
good policy and the best interests of the 
government. But in actual contact and 
control of the machinery of the govern- 
ment, and oppressed with the weighty 
responsibility of its administration, the 
stern necessities of their position coerced 
them to adopt the rules they had con- 
demned. They realized the utter im- 
practicability of operating a Whig gov- 
ernment through Democratic agents. 
They found that they must have agents 
in whom they had confidence, person- 
ally and politically. They could not 
trust, nor would they be responsible for, 
the agents they found in office. They 
therefor'.' summarily ejected them from 
place, and substituted »agents in whom 
they did have trust, for whom they were 
willing to be responsible before the 
country, and the public service was im- 
measural^y benefited. 

Burke's Description of Earl Chatham's 
Attempt at Ci^ tl Service Reform— The 
Checkered and Speckled Character o 
his Administration— Places his Ene- 
mies in Power Under Him— The Fatal 
Consequences to Mis Own Plans and 
Measures and to England. 

Let us draw an illustration from. Eng- 
lish history. Earl Chatham was the 
greatest of English Cabinet Ministers. 
He had his own Kotions or methods of 
administration, very similar to that of 
our would be civil-service reformers, 
and attempted to carry them into effect 
during his regime as Prime Minister. 
What was the result? We here quote 



136 



APPOINTMENTS AND REMOVALS. 



Edmund Burke's celebrated description 
of its character and results : 

For a -wise man he [Earl Chatham] seemed 
to me at that time to be governed too much by 
general maxims. I speak with the freedom of 
history and I hope without offense. One o r two 
of these maxims, flowing from an opinien not 
the most indulgent to our unhappy species, and 
surely a little too general, led him into measures 
that were greatly mischievous to himself; and for 
that reason, among others, fatal to his country- 
measures the effects of which I fear are forever 
incurable. He made an administration so check- 
ered and speckled— he put together a piece of 
joinery so crossly indented and whimsically 
dovetailed— a cabinet so variously inlaid— such 
a pieee of diversified mosaic— such a tessa- 
lated pavement without cement— here a bit of 
black stone and there a bit of white— patriots 
and courtiers, King's friends and Republicans, 
Whigs and Tories, treacherous friends and open 
enemies— that indeed it was a very curious show, 
but utterly unsafe to touch and unsure to stand 
on. The colleagues whom he had assorted at 
the same boards, stared ft each other, and were 
obliged to ask, "Sir, your name V "Sir, you have 
the advantage of me— Mr. Such a one— I beg a 
thousand pardons." I venture to say it did so 
happen that persons had a single office divided 
between them who had never spoke to each 
other in their lives, until they found themselves 
they knew not how, pigging together, heads 
and points in the same truckle bed." 

Sir, in consequence of this arrangement, 
having put so much the larger portion of his 
enemies and qpposers in power, the confusion 
teas such that nis own principles could not pos- 
sibly have any effect or influence in the conduct 
of affairs. If ever he fell into a fit of the gout, 
or if any other cause withdrew him from public 
cares, principles directly the contrary were sure 
to predominate. When he had executed his plan 
he had not an inch of ground to stand upon. 
When he had accomplished his scheme of ad- 
ministration he was no longer a minister. 
When his face was hid but for a moment, his 
whole system was on a wide sea, without chart 
or compass. The gentlemen, his particular 
friends, who, with the names of various depart- 
ments of ministry, were admitted to seem as 
if they scted under him, with a modesty that 
becomes all men, and with a confidence in him 
which was justified, even in its extravagance, 
by his superior abilities, had never in any in- 
stance presumed upon any opinion of their 
•own. Deprived of his guiding influence, they 
were whirled about, the sport of every gust, 
and easily driven into any port ; and as those 
who joined with them in manning the vessel 
were the most directly opposite to his opinions, 
measures, and character, and far the most art- 
ful and powerful of the set, they easily prevail- 
ed, so as to seize upon the vacant, unoccupied, 
and derelict minds of his friends; and instantly 
they turned the vessel wholly out of the 
course of his policy. As if it were to insult 
■as well as to betray him, even long before 
the close of the first session of his adminis- 
tration, when everything was publicly trans- 
acted and with great parade in his name, 
they made an act declaring it highly just and 
expedient to raise a revenue m America.— 
Speech of Edmund Burke in the English House 
of Commons on American Taxation, April 19, 
1774. 



APPENDIX. 
Win. la. Marcy charges the State 50 
cents for the mending of his panta- 



loons—Origin of the matter — The 
Charge against him and his Sensitive- 
ness over the matter. 

The following letter from Hon. Wm. 
L. Marcy, the author of the maxim "to 
the victors belong the spoils," to his 
friend, Mr. Jesse Hoyt, at New York, in 
relation to a charge, which in its day 
tilled a conspicuous part in our politics, 
will form a fitting appendix to this 
chapter: 



[Private.] Albany, 16th Oct., 1832. 

My Dear Sir :— Your letter of Monday even- 
ing I received this morning, and with it a breeze 
from the South, that gives some of our folks a 
chill. 

The opposition pretend to have certain infor- 
mation that Ritner is elected. 

Though we do not yet yield to this belief, still 
we are less confident than we were yesterday 
of Wolfe's election. 

As to the pantaloons affair, perhaps I am not 
the person best qualified to advise. 

Though the charge was right in itself yet it 
must be regarded as an unf&rtunate one, because 
so easily turned into ridicule. ' 

I showed your production to Flagg— he thought 
it very well, but seemed to think it was a little 
too formal. The enemy will have their laugh, 
but I hope it will not do much mischief. 

The true explanation is simply this : 

When Comptroller, I had always made war on 
lumping charges, because I was satisfied many 
frauds against the State had been perpetrated by 
them. 

The law provided the payment of the Judge's 
expenses in holding the Special Circuit. I kept 
a particular account of them which was handed 
to the Comptroller. 

While on this business some work was done 
on Pantaloons, for which the Tailor charged 
Fifty cents ; it was entered on the account, and 
went into the Comptroller's hands without a par- 
ticular reflection how it would appear in print. 

I feared, no danger for I knew no sin. 

lean not advise you how it is best to treat the 
subject. 

The artiele in the Argus, headed, "A Very 
Gh'ave Affair," is perhaps as full an explanation 
as the transaction will admit of. But it will 
be well to connect it, if much must be said on it, 
with the great frauds and peculations of Holley, 
Van Tuyl, John V. N. Yates — (who I believe for 
love of me writes many of the scurrilous arti- 
ticles in our papers,) in appropriating about $800 
of Poddlers' License Fees, &c, &c. 

Now as to my War Services, (a more agreeable 
subject,) I was out two campaigns— in 1812 on the 
northern frontier— belonged to the party which 
took from the enemy at St. Regis the first stand 
of colors taken in the late war, on land, and the 
first prisoners (about 40 in number.) 

These prisoners were in a house built of square 
timber. I personally headed the party that took 
them— myself broke open the house, entered it, 
and took from the hands of the soldiers their 
arms, &c. 

I care not how much this matter is handled, 
but rather they would let my pantaloons alone. 
I return your remarks. Yours, &c., 

W. L. MARCY. 



CORRUPTION OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 



137 



CHAPTER VI. 

Maladministration and Corrnption of the Democratic 
Party in Control of National Government. 



"We pledge ourselves anew to the constitutional doctrines and traditions oftlie Democratic party, 
as illustrated by the teachings and examples of a long line of Bemocratie statesmen and patriots." 
* * * —Declaration 1, National Democratic Platform, 1880.— "Public money ** * for public 
purposes solely." * * *— Declaration 12, Ibid. 



PART I. 

Ratios of Democratic defalcations compared with Republican honesty. 





o3 
o 

"> 

o 
to 

4-1 

O 

'C 

o 

Oh 


TOTAL. 


TOTAL. 


RECAPITULATIONS. * 


Administra- 
tion. 


Receipts. 


Losses. 


L^ss 

on 

§1,000 


Disburse- 
ments. 


Losses. 


Loss 
on 

§1,000 


Amount 
involved. 


Total 
Losses. 


Loss 

on 

$1,000 


Washington 

Adams 

Jefferson.... 
Madison.... 

Monroe 

Adams 

Jackson .... 
Van Buren . 
Harrison . . . 

Tvler 

Pblk 

Taylor 

Fillmore... . 

Pierce 

Buchanan. 

Lincoln 

Johnson 

Grant 

Hayes 


Yr>. 
8 
4 

8 
8 
8 
4 
S 
4 

h 

4 

4 

4 
4 
4 
8 
2 

30'61 
30*79. 


856.448,721 
46,085,418 
108,238,977 
266,246,514 
178,649,964 
97,818,054 
255,182,775 
129,948,548 

116,736,004 

201,857,508 

211,908,612 

282,179,829 
312,359,679 
4,670,-1GO,137 
4.042,316,438 
5,318,698.324 
1,728,979,907 


8210,551 
42,249 
287,260 
294,975 
629,946 
332,953 

1,412.387 
39-2,328 

429,981 

18,109 

276,270 

213,001 

194,003 

508,593 

2,562,721 

1,189,139 

None... 


83 72 
91 

2 65 
1 10 

3 52 
3 40 
5 53 
3 01 

3 68 

08 

1 30 

75 
62 
70 
63 
22 
None 


855,426.822 
43.811,926 
107,68(),311 
255,105,106 
188.437,779 
97,264,000 
223,546,049 
137,094,438 

109,187,401 

205,194,700 

194,370,493 

285,638,875 
328,183,268 
4,667.457,921 
3,891,576,259 
5,287,604,645 
1,557,034,964 


838,497 

190,950 

303,834 

1,855,446 

2,492,535; 

513,829 

2,306,236 

2,899,653 

1,133,242 

1,712,169 

1,485,192 

1,674,852 
2,292,825 
6,599,022 
1,889,641 
1,138,541 
1,383 


80 69 

4 35 
2 82 

7 27 
13 22 

5 28 
10 31 
21 15 

10 37 

8 34 
7 64 

5 86 

6 98 
1 41 

48 
21 
00 


8112,560,503 
90,733,611 
219,072,736 
526,764,049 
876,328,274 
201,488,077 
500,081,747 
285,337,949 

244,590,156 

423,913,687 

432,861,676 

608,257,815 
697,500,870 
9,386,637,144 
8,014,908,984 
10,842,922,583 
3,353,629,855 


8250,970 

235,411 

603,467 

2,191,660 

3,229,787 

885,374 

3,761.111 

3,343,792 

1,565,903 

1,732,851 

1,814,409 

2,167,982 
2,659,107 
7,200,984 
4,619,599 
2,622,478 
2,676 


82 22 
2 59 

2 75 
4 16 
8 58 
4 39 
7 52 

11 71 

6 40 

4 08 
4 19 

3 56 
3 81 

76 

57 

24 

8 

10 mill 




18,"024 : 115,418 


8,994,375 


49 


17,634,620,963 


28,527,857 


1 61 


36.317,639,725 


38,887,568 


n~07 


Prior to Jun. 

J'ly l'61to Jun. 


2,263,660,610 
15,760,454,807 


4,734,020 
4,260,355 


2 09 
27 


2,230,947,173 
15,403,673,790 


18,899,268 
9,628,589 


8 47 
62 


4,719,481, 157J 24,441,829 
31,598,158,567 14,445,739 


5 17 

46 



including all other amounts collected or disbursed, and the losses thereon. 

1. In the cases where the accounts of officers embraced more than one period, the losses, un- 
less known to hare occurred in other periods, have been charged to the periods in which the ac- 
counts were opened in this Department. In cases of defaulting banks, however, for want of other 
information, the losses have been charged to the periods in which they are reported on the books, 
though, doubtless, in several instances, they actually occurred in previous periods. 

2. No deductions have been made for amounts which may be collected hereafter, though a large 
percentage of the recent losses will doubtless be yet recovered. 

3. In preparing this statement, the receipts and disbursements since June 30, 1843, have been 
classified by fiscal years as in the published official reports ; the losses liave in all cases been classi- 
fied by calendar years, it not being practicable to separate the losses occurring in the fractional 
years of each period ; but the periods compared being of the same length, the result is substantially 
correct. 

4. In making this revision no credits have been allowed for moneys collected on balances due 
previous to 1869, being small in amount, and the period of credit ascertainable only with much 
labor. 



138 



CORRUPTION OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 



$748,831,071.01 the Aggregate Amount 
Collected in Six Years from Internal 
Revenne — Cost of Collection only 3 6-10 
per cent.— The Whole Collected With- 
out the Loss of One Dollar to the Gov- 
ernment — A Success Unparalleled in 
the History of Civil Government. 

In his official report, dated July 26, 1882, 
and addressed to the Secretary of the 
Treasury, Hon. Green B. Raum, Com- 
missioner of Internal Revenue, states : 

Sir: I have the honor to report that the an- 
nual examination of the offices of the 126 collec- 
tors of internal revenue throughout the United 
States has been completed, and that it has been 
found that the entire collections of internal rev- 
enue taxes for the past fiscal vear, amounting 
to 8146,520,273,71, have been accounted for 
and turned into the Treasury. It is, further, my 
pleasant duty to report that, during the past 
six fiscal y&ars, the sum of $748,831,071.01 has 
been coJected from internal revenue taxation, 
and paid into the Treasury without any loss 
by defalcation. 

The expenses of collection for the last fiscal 
year (including the expenses of this office) w 11 
be found, on final adjustment, not to exceed 
$5,108,300, or less than 31-2 per cent, on the 
amount collected. The expenses of collection 
for the six years have been about $27,087,- 
300, or 3 6-10 per cent, ©n the amount collected. 
This sum has been disbursed without 
loss to the Goverment. 



PART II. 

« Retrenchment, Economy, 
and Reform" of the 
Pecksniffian Democracy 
—From 1828. 

" Retrenchment, Economy, and Re- 
form," as a slogan, were early patented 
by the Pecksniffian Democracy. In 
1828, in the House of Representatives, 
the partisans of Andrew Jackson, the 
founder of modern Democracy, raised 
the cry of " extravagance and fraud " 
against the existing national adminis- 
tration — that of the younger Adams. 
After a protracted and acrimonious de- 
bate, an investigation was ordered by 
the House, but Mr. Hamilton, its chair- 
man, in his report to the House ut- 
terly fails to convict the younger Adams 
or his administration of either extrava- 
gance or corruption, or even to raise a 
presumption of either; and in history 
that administration stands unsurpassed 
by any which preceded it, or has fol- 
lowed, for practical statesmanship of 
the highest order, for incorruptible in- 
tegrity, for its success in the manage- 
ment of the affairs of the nation, and 
for exalted patriotism. Nevertheless, 
the Democracy clamored against it, as 
they now clamor against the Republi- 
cans. They denounced it for extrava- 
gance and fraud. They fabricated the 
infamous "bargain and corruption" li- 



bel against Adams and the chivalrous 
Henry Clay, charging that the Democra- 
cy, by Adams and Clay in the House of 
1824-25, had been cheated out of the Presi- 
dency — charges which their authors sub- 
sequently confessed were not "only 
false " in themselves, but were •■' impos- 
sible to be true," but which they clam- 
orously urged in every vile form, and 
literally lied Adams down. Thus it was 
that the Democracy originally succeeded 
to power and place— by lying and hypoc- 
risy. 



PART III. 

Inauguration of Andrew 
Jackson, the founder of 
Modern Democracy — "To 
the Victors belong the 
Spoils." 

On March 4, 1829, Andrew ' Jackson, 
pledged to retrenchment, economy, and 
reform, was inaugurated President of 
the United States. Proclaiming the 
maxim that " to the victors belong the 
spoils," Jackson let slip the " Furies of 
the Guillotine" in a wholesale proscrip- 
tion of the old and .tried officials of for- 
mer administrations. John Q. Adams, 
in the preceding four years, had made 
but 12 changes — all for cause. In the 
preceding 40 years, all his predecessors 
together had made only 132 changes— of 
these Jefferson had removed ; 62 but 
Jackson, in the genuine spirit of a Dem- 
ocratic reformer, in one year removed, it 
was estimated, 1,500 officials — in one 
year nearly 12 times as many as by all 
his predecessors from the beginning of 
the Government. The officials removed 
were experienced, capable, and trusty. 
The character of those who filled their 
places — " Slamm, Bang & Co." — is at- 
tested by the "reform" which followed. 



PART IV. 

Humiliation and Disgrace 
and $*reat Pecuniary loss 
the Total of Jackson's 
Reforms — Confession in 
1839 of democratic Mi- 
nority of Marian Commit, 
tee. 

After many failures to obtain an in- 
vestigation into the corruptions or mal- 
practices of Jackson's rule, all investi- 
gations into which had been systemati- 



CORRUPTION OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 



139 



callv defeated in both Houses by Jack- 
son's partisan friends, and the packing 
of committees by Speaker Jas. K. Polk, 
the House, in 1839, when Jackson had re- 
tired to the shades of the Hermitage, and 
when its awe of the President was not 
so great as under pugnacious Old 
Hickory, took the matter into its own 
hands, and elected a committee for the 
purpose, with Hon. James Harlan, of 
Kentucky, as its chairman. The de- 
velopments were astounding — the 
corruption and malpractices without a 
parallel in our history. Thus was de- 
veloped Swartwout's defalcation at 
New York, as collector of the port, of 
$1,225,705 69 a vast sum in that day ; of 
Price, United States district-attorney at 
New York, of $72,224.06, and those of 
fifty of the sixty-odd receivers of pub- 
lic moneys from the sales of public lands 
in an agggregate sum of $825,678,25. 
Col. Gratiot, chief engineer, United 
States Army, about this time also de- 
faulted in the sum of $50,000. 

Mr. Owen, in his report from the 
Democratic minority of the Harlan com- 
mittee, thus confesses the facts proved : 

That tbe country has sustained great pecuni- 
ary loss, no man can doubt ; that the national 
character has suffered deep humiliations and 
disgrace, no man can hesitate to admit. But 
losses like these are incident to all govern- 
ments ; no one is free from them. The annals 
of our own afford numerous instances of pecu- 
lation, committed at every period of its short 
existence under all and every administration, 
and all and every fiscal system which has been , 
adopted and carried into practice: no matter! 
who has been tbe fiscal agent, the Government j 
has sustained loss ; it must be so until man be- ' 
comes honest.— [Reports of Committees, 25th 
Cong., 3d sess., Vol. 2. 1838-1839, page 284.] 

And so on throughout all the depart- 
ments—in the War and Navy as in the 
Treasury, and the Post Office Depart- 
ment was bankrupt through system- 
atic plunder. 



of the slave oligarchy— exacted an ex- 
penditure of hundreds of millions aud 
the lives of 25,000 of our citizens. Cor- 
ruption in the government stalked unre- 
strained. The Eli Moores, the Purdys, 
the Morrises, the Patrick Collinses, the 
Beards, the Scotts, the Kennerlies, the 
Denbys, and the Wetrnores — a host of 
pillagers, Indian agentn, sub-Indian 
agents, contractors, disbursing officers 
of the army and navy, navy agents, pen- 
sion agents, marshals, receivers of pub- 
lic moneys, commercial agents, survey- 
ors, inspectors, and collectors of the 
customs— plundered their millions. 

A Democratic Senator Indignantly De- 
nounces tbe Malpractices and Cor- 
ruption of Polk's Administration. 

In the Senate of the United States, 
February 11, 1847, Mr. Westcott, a Dem- 
ocratic Senator from Florida, indig- 
nantly declared : 

I warn the Democracy of this country, the 
people of this country, that they do not know 
one-twentieth part of the corruption, tbe fecu- 
lent, reeking corruption, in this respect, in the 
Government for years past. I tell the people 
of this country that the Government and insti- 
tutions of this country have been and will be 
used as a machine to plunder them for office 
beggars, and to perpetuate the possession of po- 
litic;) 1 power. I solemnly believe, if the people of 
theUuitedStatesknew the manner in which their 
Government was conducted, if they could all 
be assembled at the city of Washington, 
they would be excited to kick up a revolution 
in twenty-four hours, which would tumble the 
President, beads of departments, both houses 
of Congre.-s, Democrafs and Whigs, head over 
head into the Potomac; and I believe they 
would act right in doing so. 



PART V. 

" Feculent^ reeking Corrup- 
tion " — A long array of De- 
faulters in the Mexican 
War — Its prodigious Ex- 
penditures and Plunder. 

In 1840 these Democratic reformers 
were swept from office by the election 
of General Win. H. Harrison as Presi- 
dent. In 1845 they were restored to 
power and plunder through the election 
of Polk. 

The Mexican War, one of the darkest 
scenes in our history — a war forced upon 
our and the Mexican people by the high- 
handed usurpations of President Polk 
in pursuit of territorial aggrandizement 



PART VI. 

Mammoth Frauds of Wash- 
ington "Rings" under 
Presidents Pierce and IBu- 
ehanan — Pi e r c e's « Out- 
laws of the Treasury" — 
The actual and proposed 
plunder under Pierce esti- 
mated at $SO© 9 000 9 000 !— 
Buchanan's Administra- 
tion simply a continua- 
tion of Pierce's Reign of 
Plunder and Tyranny in 
Support of Slavery. 

These reformers, in 1849, were again 
ousted from pow« r by the election of 
General Zachary Taylor as President, 
but were again restored in 1853 through 
the success of the Democracy in the 
election of General Franklin Pierce as 
Chief Magistrate. 



140 



CORRUPTION OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. 



Under Pierce, Washington "rings" 
rejoiced in mammoth fraud in the build- 
ing of the Capitol wings and in the ex- 
tension of the Treasury building, and 
were encouraged in their pillage by 
Pierce's "outlaws of the Treasury/' 
The actual and proposed plunder was 
immense. The aggregate amount of 
spoils proposed in the first Congress un- 
der Pierce was estimated at $300,000,000! 
—$120,000,000 in obedience to the decree 
of the Ostend conference for the pur- 
chase of Cuba ; $20,000,000 for the Gads- 
den purchase, and so on in like acts — all 
for the aggrandizement of slavery. The 
maladministration of the Post Office De- 
partment under Campbell, Pierce's Post- 
master-General, rivaled that under 
Barry and Kendall. Even "the sale of 
letters and papers was made an item of 
revenue." "Bank-bills, checks, and in- 
surance policies were sold in piles," and 
a Connecticut mill, buying two thou- 
sand of these, exposed the crime. 

Buchanan's administration, in its vile 
malpractices and plunder, and its ty- 
ranny in support of slavery, was Taut a 
continuation of Pierce's. Even Hon. 
Roger A. Pryor, a stalwart pro-slavery 
Democratic member from Virginia in the 
House , was forced in very shame to cry 
out: 

From the by-ways and highways of the gov- 
ernment the rottenness of corruption sends 
forth an insufferable stench. Why are the peo- 
ple so patient 1 ? Why eiumber the indignation 
of the Democracy? 

% 
And Mr. Winslow, who makes the 
report of the Democratic minority of 
the Covode Committee in 1860, while in 
-effect admitting the corruptions and 
-crimes of Buchanan's administration, 
pleadingly urges in extenuation : 

No government has ever yet existed in which 
"the executive branch has been able to secure 
-every where faithful and trustworthy agents. In 
a country as extensive as is ours, it is hardly to 
toe expected that we could be more successful 
than other people We must expect occasional 
breaches of duty, occasional betrayal of trusts, 
so long as our present imperfect nature exists. 



PART VII. 

Immensely Increased Dem- 
ocratic Expenditures — In- 
creased Taxation of the 
People to Support this 
System of Wholesale Cor- 
ruption, Plunder, and 
Fraud. 

Under the administration of John Q. 
Adams, denounced by the Democracy 
for "extravagance and fraud," the 
heaviest net annual expenditure was 



$13,296,041.45. Under Jackson, under 
the solemn Democratic pledges of " re- 
trenchment and reform," the net annual 
expenditures suddenly doubled, even 
trebled those of Jackson's last year 
(1836), being $37,243,214.24! Under Polk 
they increased to $53,801,569.37 ; under 
Pierce to $65,032,339.76, and under Bu- 
chanan, in 1861, to $72,291,119.70! 

The aggregate net ordinary expen- 
ditures of the younger Adams' 

administration was $51,671,943 99 

Of Jackson's last four years 104,051,745 81 

Of Van Buren's four years 110,683,428 21 

Of Polk's four years 116,381,026 34 

Of Pierce's four years 232,820,632 35 

Of Buchanan's four years 261,155,809 62 

The average annual net ordinary ex- 
penditures were : 

Under J. Q. Adams $12,917,985 99 

Under Jackson (Democratic econ- 
omy) 26,012,936 45 

Under Van Buren (Democratic 
economy) 27,670,857 05 

Under Polk (Democratic economy) 25,095,256 58 

Under Pierce (Democratic econ- 
omy) 58,205,158 09 

Under Buchanan (Democratic econ- 
omy) 65,288,952 41 

A constantly increasing scale, doub- 
ling under the wholesale plunder and 
corruption of Jackson and Van Buren, 
and closing under those of Pierce and 
Buchanan at five times the figures which, 
under the younger Adams, they de- 
nounced as evidences of extravagance 
and fraud. 

Analysis of the aggregates and ratios of 
losses under Democratic and Repub- 
lican administrations. 

During the seventy-two years of our 
Government, prior to 1861, a period main- 
ly controlled by the Democracy, the ag- 
gregate collections and disbursements 
were $4,719,481,157.68. During the pe- 
riod from 1861 to 1875, under Republican 
rule, the aggregate collections and dis- 
bursements,in consequence of the war ex- 
penses incurred through the Democracy 
in rebellion, reached the prodigious sum 
of $25,576,202,805.52, or over five times 
greater under the Republicans than un- 
der the Democracy. The aggregate 
losses under the Democracy in the period 
prior to 1861 were $24,441,829.32, or$5 17 
in every $1,000 ; under Republicans the 
aggregate losses were only $14,666.- 
776.07, or only 46 cents in every $1,000- 
In other words, although the aggregate 
collections and disbursements under the 
Republicans were over 11 times greater 
than under Democratic rule, yet the ag- 
gregate losses under Democratic reform 
were nearly $10,000,000 greater than un- 
der the Republicans, and in the ratio of 
losses to every $1,000 were nearly 10 
times greater. 

Under the administration of Andrew 
Jackson, that model of Democratic re- 
form, the aggregate collections and dis- 



BOUNTIES FOR TREASON. 



141 



bursements were only $500,0ol,747.75 ; 
but under that of General Gi ant (in con- 
sequence of the war expenses incurred 
through the Democratic rebellion,) they 
reached the immense sum of $10,842,- 
922,583, nearly 22 times greater under 
Grant than under Jackson. Under Jack- 
son the aggregate losses were $3,761,- 
111.87, or $7.52 in every $1,000. Under 
Grant only $2,846,192 12— or 24 cents in 
every $1,000. In other words, although 
the aggregate collections and disburse- 
ments under Grant were nearly 22 
times greater than under Jackson, yet 



the aggregate losses under Jackson were 
nearly $1,000,000 greater than under 
Grant and in the ratio of losses in $1,000 
were over 22 times greater than under 
Grant. Under Van Buren the ratio of 
losses in every $1,000 was nearly 49 times 
greater than under Grant, and in like 
ratio under all the administrations of 
Democratic reform. Under the latest, 
that of Buchanan, the ratio of losses in 
every $1 000 was $3 81—16 times greater 
than under Grant. — See table at liead of 
chapter. 



OHAPTEE VII. 



Bounties for Treason through Unlawful Claims to 
Ex-Confederates. 



PART L 

Northes*!! Stump Argument 
Proving tliat ]tfo Danger 
Exists from Rebel Claims. 

Whenever the subject of "rebel 
claims" is introduced by a Republican 
in the North, the following provision of 
the Constitution is triumphantly quoted 
by his Democratic opponent : 

Neither the United States nor any State shall 
assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred 
in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the 
United States, or any claim for the loss or 
emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, 
obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and 
void. 

This, the people are informed, covers 
every class of claims for losses incurred 
by citizens of the Southern States dur- 
ing the war, and prohibits the payment 
of any claims whatever to those who 
were disloyal to the Government during 
that period. 

The Falsity of the Assumption— Red- 
Handed Rebels Invited to a Feast of 
Spoils. 

That the first of these propositions is 
untrue, according to Democratic inter- 
pretation of the above clause of the 
Constitution, will abundantly appear 
from the millions upon millions of dol- 
lars claimed, under various pretexts, 
without reference to the loyalty of the 
claimant. 

That the second proposition is untrue 



is shown by the fact that the Democratic 
leaders in Congress hold that all tests of 
loyalty, so far as Southern claimants are 
concerned, have been abolished by the 
Supreme Court of the United States; 
and that when a Southern rebel claim- 
ant has been specially pardoned, or 
comes within pardon or amnesty, under 
general proclamation or otherwise, the 
said pardon or amnesty is retroactive, 
and is ''equivalent to affirmative proof 
that the party never gave aid and comfort 
to the rebellion," and therefore never was- 
disloyal. See the following extract from 
the report of Mr. Cabell — Democrat, and 
ex-rebel from Virginia — from the Com- 
mittee on War Claims, June 30, 1876, to 
! the Democratic House of Representa- 
tives, on the Pickerell & Brooks claim r 

The Supreme Court of the United States, in 
Padelford's case, 9 Wallace, p. 531, &c, holds 
that pardon blots out not only the offense, but 
all the consequences thereof, and that the re- 
cipient of the pardon stands as if he had never 
committed an ofiense; in other words, that the 
proof of pardon and amnesty is the equivalent to 
i affirmative proof under tlie statute of captured 
and abandoned properly that the party never 
gave aid and comfort to the rebellion. 

It this interpretation of the Supreme 
Court decision in Padelford's case is 
correct, it will be readily seen that all 
tests of loyalty are practically abol- 
ished, and it only remains for the Dem- 
ocracy to get possession of the Govern- 
ment, when the doors of the Treasury 
will be thrown open, and every red- 
handed rebel who may choose to de- 
mand compensation for losses during 
the war will be invited to step in and 
help himself. 



BOUNTIES FOR TREASON. 



Tilden's I«etter and the Cabell Report— 
The Two to be Interpreted Together. 

It was in the light of the Cabell report 
that the following clause of Tilden's 
letter on rebel claims was read by the 
Southern people : 

No claim for any loss or damage incurred by 
disloyal persons, arising from the late war, 
whether covered toy the Fourteenth Amendment 
or not, will be recognized or paid. The cotton 
tax will not toe refunded. I shall deem it my 
duty to veto every toill providing for the as- 
sumption or payment of any such debts, losses, 
damages, claims, or for the refunding of any 
such tax. 

Thus did this adroit and cunning word 
manipulator frame a document which 
would bear two interpretations — one for 
the North, where it was believed that he 
opposed the payment of all these claims; 
and one for the South, where, it was 
known that he could, without inconsis- 
tency, favor the payment of any claim 
whatever, except, perhaps, for the loss 
of slaves. 

Tilden's Legal Opinion— Every North- 
ern Soldier a Trespasser on Southern 
Soil— And Liable to a Suit for Trespass. 

That he could be depended upon to in- 
terpret his own words for the benefit of 
his Southern friends was further made 
evident to them by the following extract 
from a letter of ex- Governor Under- 
wood, of Vermont, written about the 
same time : 

I have known Mr. Tilden for twenty years ; I 
have heard him declare, in conversation with 
myself, near the close of the war, that every 
man of the United States army that marched 
across Southern soil was a trespasser, and liable 
to suit for trespass ! I asked him if he under- 
took to talk such treason as that, and if it was 
his opinion as a lawyer, that this Government 
could enlis' men, put arms in their hands, and 
send them to the protection of the Government 
against rebels, and then furnish tribunals to try 
its own soldiers as trespassers— and lie said that 
it was.— Sept., 1876. 



PART II. 

$2,492,899,926 Exacted by 
the Solid South as Com- 
pensation for Treason — A 
Sum Greater than the ffa. 
tional ]>eht Demanded by 
Those who Created it — 
Northern Tax-payers In- 
vited to Foot the Bill. 

Some idea of the magnitude of the 
proposed raid on the Treasury may be 
formed by examining a few of the pro- 
posed "measures of relief " introduced 
in the House. The first in order is a bill 



presented by Mr. Scales, of North Car- 
olina, (H. It. 3145,) entitled "A bill to 
refund certain direct taxes on land col- 
lected from citizens in the late insurrec- 
tionary States under the act of August 
5, 1861." 

A Demand for the Return of Taxes Paid 
by the Rebel States. 

The law of 1861 levied a direct tax of 
$20,000,000, and apportioned the same 
among the several States for payment. 
All the States except those in insurrec- 
tion assumed their quotas and paid 
them, except a small balance still due. 
The aggregate amount apportioned to 
the rebel States was $5,153,886. Of this 
amount, $2,661,776 was still uncollected 
when Mr. Scales introduced the bill to 
refund the $2,492,100 which had been 
collected. The reason given for this 
impudent demand was that said taxes 
"were taken from a people greatly im- 
poverished by the war." It never seems 
to have occurred to these claimants that 
the people of the North had not only 
paid the bulk of the assessment of $20,'- 
000,000, but had mortgaged their prop- 
erty and pledged their sacred honor for 
two thousand six hundred millions more, 
and gave the priceless lives of half a 
million of their bravest sons to save the 
Union from destruction by those who 
are now clamoring for this relief. 

A job to put Sixty-eight Millions of 
Dollars into the pockets of lobbyists* 

The next "measure of relief" in order 
is the cotton-tax job — a scheme to re- 
fund the tax collected on raw cotton in 
the Gulf States during the years 1865- 
'66-'67. The aggregate amount of this 
tax is $68,072,088. 

Ostensibly the bill (H. R. 232) pro- 
poses to "refund the tax to the parties 
who actually produced the cotton," but 
in fact it is a gigantic job of lobbyists 
and speculators who have got the great 
bulk of the claims into their own hands 
by agreeing to pay a trifling per cent, 
on their face value if they succeed. 
Their success depends upon their ability 
to place Congress in the hands of the 
Democracy. 

The Southern Claims Commission— Loy- 
alty the Test — Perjury the Practice. 

But there is another class of demands 
compared with which the foregoing may 
be considered in the light of luxuries. 
These comprise the rebel losses during 
the war. 

Under an act of Congress, approved 
March 3, 1871, the "Southern Claims Com- 
mission" was created and empowered 
to "receive, examine, and consider the 
justice and validity of such claims as 
should be brought to them of those 
citizens who remained loyal adherents 



BOUNTIES FOR TREASON. 



143 



to the cause and the Government of 
the United States in States proclaimed 
as in insurrection against the United 
States during the rebellion." 

It will be observed that this law con- 
fines claims exclusively to " loyal ad- 
herents," &c, signifying that the Gov- 
ernment holds itself responsible to no 
others for losses sustained by the war. 
But, judging from the number of claims 

£ resented before this tribunal, and the 
ard swearing by which they were 
sought to be sustained, the bulk of the 

Eroperty-owners in the South must have 
een intensely loyal during the whole 
war. 

In the two years allowed in which to 
present these demands, 22,298 claims 
were filed, representing an aggregate of 
$60,258,150. The gross amount of per- 
jury committed in order to prove the 
'loyalty" of many of the claimants is 
something appalling. 

When Perjury is unsafe a Democratic 
Congress called into requisition —A 
Tribunal where Disloyalty commands 
a Premium. 

But what becomes of the hundreds of 
thousands of other claimants who have 
not ventured to appear before an "iron- 
clad" commission and swear to their loy- 
alty? Before what "commission" are they 
to obtain redress? Their own practical 
answer to this is to elect a tribunal of 
their own, consisting of a Democratic 
Congress — a tribunal where disloyalty 
is sure to command a premium. 

The files of the House show how 
promptly they have availed themselves 
of this tribunal. Scores and scores of 
claims are presented without a sugges- 
tion of "loyalty" as an excuse for the 
demands. 

The aggregate of these claims pre- 
sented to the 44th Congress was $1,582,- 
269. 

The aggregate of similar claims pre- 
sented to the 45th Congress was $6,757,- 
793. 

It has been estimated that in addi- 
tion to the above it will require for 
"blanks"— that is bills calling for sums 
not ascertained at the date of their 
presentation— at least $3,500,000. 

The aggregate of the foregoing claims, 
however monstrous they may appear, 
is a mere bagatelle when compared to 
the sums provided for by two bills intro- 
duced in the House — one by Mr. Wilt- 
shire, of Arkansas, and the other by 
Mr. Riddle, of Tennessee. 

The first named is as follows : 

A Bill to Abolish all Tests of Loyalty- 
All Rebels Invited to Help Themselves 
at the Treasury Vaults, and Call in 
their Neighbors — Southern Courts 



and Juries to Assess Damages for Reb- 
el Losses, and Uncle Sam to Foot the 
Bill. 

A Bill to facilitate the adjustment and settle- 
ment of claims of citizens of the United States 
for stores and supplies taken or furnished dur- 
ing the rebellion for the use of the Army of 
the United States, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives of the United States of America in Con- 
gress assembled. That all citizens of the United 
States having claims against the United States 
for stores or supplies taken or furnished during 
the rebellion for the use of the Army of the 
United States, including the use and loss of ves- 
sels or boats while employed in the military 
service of the United States, may institute suit 
against the United States for the adjustment 
and recovery of such claims in the district 
court of the United States for the district in 
which such stores or supplies may have been 
take:i or furnished, or such vessels or boats 
may have been used or lost. And the dit«tric 
courts of the United States for the several judi- 
cial districts within which such stores or sup- 
plies may have been taken, as aforesaid, and 
vessels or boats may have been used or lost, as 
afo' esaid, shall take and exercise jurisdiction in 
all cases for claims brought in said courts under 
the provisions of this act, without regard to the 
amount claimed. 

This bill would refer each batch of 
claims to the citizens of the neighbor- 
hood that was despoiled, abolish the 
Southern Claims Commission and all 
tests of loyalty, and pay damages as- 
sessed by juries out of a general appro- 
priation. In estimating the amount 
required to pay claimants under this 
bill, the spirit of economy and reform 
which actuates the average Southern 
jury must not be overlooked. 

Another Bill to Abolish Tests of Loyalty 
— A Bill to Enable one Rebel to Swear 
Another Rebel's Claim Through — A 
General Interchange of Perjury 
among Neighbors would Secure Pay 
for Everything. 

Mr. Riddle's bill is as follows : 

A Bill directing compensation to be allowed for 
the use and occupation of property by the 
United States Army during the late war. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives of the United States of America in Con- 
gress assembled, That the Secetary of War be, 
and he is hereby, authorized to allow reasona- 
ble compensation to all citizens of the United 
States for the use and occupation of their prop- 
erty by the United States Army, or any part 
thereof, duriug the late civil war, in the same 
manner and under the same regulations as 
compensation is now allowed for quartermaster 
stores used by said Army; Provided, however, 
That the affidavit of the claimant, supported by 
the competent ' estimony of any reputable citi- 
zen, shall be sufficient proof to establish the fact 
of the use and occupation of such property by 
said Army. But it is not the intention of this 
act to limit the parties to the amount of proof 
herein specified ; but other and additional tes- 
timony may be taken to establish the fact of the 
use and occupation, and the rental value of the 
property occupied. 

This bill not only discards the idea «* 
that loyalty has anything to do with 
war claims, but makes one oath by a 



144 



BOUNTIES FOR TREASON. 



rebel sufficient to effectually establish a 
claim. Nor is there any limit to the 
"stores and supplies taken or furnished" 
short of the entire amount, whatever 
that may be. It means in effect that 
the Government shall pay for every 
head of cattle, every bushel of corn or 
other grain, every pound of meat, flour, 
meal, and commissary stores and quar- 
termaster's supplies of every kind what- 
ever, foraged, used, or destroyed by 
our soldiers during the war ! 

The Grand Aggregate enough to Bank- 
rapt the Government. 

And what would be the graud aggre- 
gate of claims accruing under these 
wholesale raids upon the Treasury 1 ? 
A reasonable estimate may probably 
be reached by taking the 22,298 sworn 
loyal claimants as a basis. The 
total amount claimed by this class, 
as appears in the preceding pages, 
is $60,258,150, making the average value 
of each claim $2,702.40. It will not be 
regarded as extravagant to say that the 
number of disloyal claimants South 
stand as forty to one loyal, and using 
the same average value of $2,702.40 per 
claim, as above, the total to be appropri- 
ated on account of these two bills alone 
would swell to the sum of $2,410,326,000. 

Recapitulation. 

Direct tax $2,661,776 

Cotton tax 68,072,088 

Special relief bills 8,340,062 

Lowest estimate for 

blanks 3,500,000 

Use and occupation of 

Eroperty, (see Riddle's 
ill) 1,205,163,000 

Supplies used or destroyed 
(see Wiltshire's bill) .... 1,205,163,000 

Grand total of Southern 
claims 2,492,899,926 

In round numbers, an amount equal to 
the national debt at the close of the war. 



PART III. 

"Justice and Right" the 
basis of Rebel I>eniauds — 
Rebel Claims a "Part of 
the war debt of the Na- 
tion" and must be paid 9 
or 

In a speech on Southern claims, de- 
livered in the House, May 1, 1878, Mr. 
Hayes, of Wisconsin, said : 

Having shown the magnitude of these claims, 
I wishtosay thatthe general sentiment through- 



out the South is that those claims ought to he 
paid. * * * 

Why, sir, the idea that the Government owes 
and ought to pay all damages occasioned by the 
war throughout the South is so firmly imbedded 
in the Southern mind that it will take several 
generations to root it out. No man, I care not 
how great his ability, can be a leader among the 
Southern people unless he openly indorses this 
idea There is not a Southern gentleman on 
this floor who would not be overwhelmingly de- 
feated at the coming election if lie should dare 
to stand up here and declare that these claims 
ought not to be paid. * * * No man can 
be elected to any office in that section who dares 
to proclaim himself opposed to paying these 
Southern claims. Men who expect to succeed 
politically must be in harmony with their peo- 
ple in this respect. * * * They hold t» the 
idea that the Government is under obligation to 
pay them. They go so far as to declare that the 
claims for captured and abandoned property, 
and for private property takea by the Union 
army in the way of supplies, constitute a part 
of the war debt of the nation. 



Judge Bart ley's legal demands in behalf 
of Rebels— The obligation to Pay 
rebel claims more sacred than the 
bonded debt of the nation; and as 
valid a lien on the Treasury. 

Indeed, Judge Bartley, whose little pamphlet 
was distributed so freely among members of 
this body a few days ago, argues that the prop- 
erty taken for the subsistence of the Union 
Army saved the Government from raising 
money on the sale of its bonds in the sums rep- 
reseuted by the value of the property seized 
and used, and that the claims for the payment 
for this property are as just and as valid "a lien 
upon the Treasury as the bonded debt itself. 

I In fact, he thinks they should take precedence 

j of the bonded debt in equity, because that debt 
draws interest, while the claims do not. The 
Judge presents his case in the strongest light 
possible, and closes his pamphlet of twenty 

I pages with the following significant para- 

i graph : 

"The foregoing views are expressed on mature 

I consideration from a sense of duty to several 
hundred citizens of Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkan- 

1 sas, and Texas, represented by the undersigned 
as their counsel. The positions assumed can 
and will be maintained, aud cannot be success- 
fully controverted in or out of Congress. If 
the plain language used is expressive of some 
feeling, it arises simply from a deep sense of 
the wrong and injustice clone to injured parties, 
and is not intended to be discourteous, but in 
all due deference and respectful regard for the 
public authorities." 

Foard's Pamphlet-Xo way to heal Rebel 
wounds like paying- Rebel Claims— A 
never failing cure — Try a sample. 

Only a few days ago I received a pamphlet 
wiitten by Dr. J. F. Foard, of North Carolina, 
in which the writer discusses this subject at 
some length, declaring that the Government 
should pay these claims as a matter of justice 
and right. After devoting several pages to set- 
ting forth the losses sustain, d by the Southern 
people, he use sthese words : "The easiest and 
best way to heal them"— the wounds made by 
the war— "is to compensate those who lost so 
much in the conflict." In a subsequent chapter 
he says : 

"Let us go at this work promptly, earnestly, 
and honestly, that it may be as a monument of 
truth and justice, erected in the hearts of our 
children to remind them of the importance of 
national honor, peace and good will." 



BOUNTIES FOR TREASON. 



145; 



A demand for pay for all losses on both 
sides— Lost time, lost limbs, and lost 
lives to be paid for — Foard is generous 
to a Fanlt. 

The last page of Foard's book con- 
tains a form of a memorial to Congress 
petitioning that body for the passage of 
a law granting pay for all property des- 
troyed by the ''governments and armies 
of both sides during the late war between 
the States;" and also for pay for "lost 
time, limbs, and lives," of all soldiers 
of "both armies and every section." 
All interested are invited to "co-oper- 
ate" "in the great work" by signing the 
memorial, procuring signatures, and 
forwarding them to Congress. 

It may be added that this particular 
"great work" is temporarily suspended, 
awaiting the election of a Democratic 
Congress. 

More about Judge Bartley — Amnesty 
restores all Rights— Remits all sins. 

Judge Bartley, in his little pamphlet 
above alluded to, further says : 

"The pardon and amnesty which was 
granted contained an express pledge 
for the restoration of all rights of prop- 
erty, except as to slaves. * * * The 
pardon was a remission of all punish- 
ment, and also a pledge of the public 
faith for the restoration of all rights." 

Judge Bartley's Relations with Han- 
cock— The Significance of his opin- 
ions—Hancock's right bower. 

The significance of Judge Bartley's 
sweeping utterances in favor of the 
payment of all Southern claims without 
reference to the loyalty of the claimant 
can be better appreciated when it is 
known that he was the great original 
Hancock man ; that he advocated Han- 
cock's nomination long before he was 
seriously thought of by the party gen- 
erally ; that months before the conven- 
tion met, the N. Y. Herald and other 
papers were tilled with Judge Bartley's 
communications urging the nomination 
of Hancock ; that lie was the head and 
front of the Washington coterie of Han- 
cock's confidential friends ; that Han- 
cock owes his nomination more to the 
secret management and shrewd wire- 
pulling of Judge Bartley than to all 
other causes combined ; and finally that, 
if Hancock had been elected, Judge 
Bartley would have had a seat in the 
Cabinet. The effect of such a state of 
affairs on the Southern claims question 
can readily be imagined. 



PART IV. 

How Rebel Claims Grow — 
Fecundity of" Rebel mules 



— ^Esthetic Fence Rails* 
and expansive Pork. 

It will be seen by the foregoing, that 
Judge Bartley holds that the Southern 
claims should take precedence of the 
bonded debt of the United States, in 
equity, for the reason that that debt 
draws interest, while the claims do not. 

It may be true that the claims do not 
draw interest, but it is a well known* 
fact that they have a way of growing- 
in magnitude, which beats the most 
usurious interest known to history. 
They are cancerous, and of ' ceaseless 
malignity in growth. Here is a speci- 



Claim No. 3,107.— (Before the Claims Commis- 
sioners and disallowed.)— Jan. 18, 1875 —Refer- 
red to the Committee on War Claims, aud 
ordered to be printed. Marie P. Evaus, of Or- 
leans Parish, Louisiana. Total amount claimed 
in original petition, $272,590 ; in amended peti- 
tion, $495,355. 

Here are specifications, as follows : 
No. 1. 825 hlids. centrifugal sugar, of 
average weight of 1 300 lbs. net per 
hhd., being 1,072,500 lb. at 25c, 

per lb $268,125 

No. 2 400 bbls. golden syrup (molasses), 
at 40 gallons per bbl., making 16,000 

gallons at $1 50 per gallon 

500 bbls. sugar-house molasses, at 40 
gallons per bbl., making 20,000 at $1. . . 

No. 3. 1,000 empty bbls. at $2 

No. 4. 3,000 cord* of dry wood at $5 15,000 

No. 5. 62 mules at $200 12,400 

No. 6. 15 wagons at $150 2,250 

I No. 7. 3 carts at $75 225 

No. 8. 3 drays at $75 225 

I No. 9. 3 gas tanks (iron) at $100 300 

I No. 10. 26,600 bushels corn (in ear) at $1. 26,600 
I No. 11. 374 tons fodder (corn blades) 

and hay at $25 9,350 

No. 12. 5 horses at $200 1,000 

No 13. 5bblsbrandy at $400 2,000 



24,000 



20,000 
2,000 



The number of the items is thirty- 
two ; of these, No. 31 is for 145,000 fence 
rails, made of the most beautiful and 
expensive timber in the world, no 
doubt. The only tiling that should sur- 
prise us in the bill of particulars is that 
the sixty-two mules were not put at 
$1,000 each. Tlie moderation of the 
claimant has not, however, been ap- 
preciated, for the claim is in the list of 
the disallowed. The first time it was 
presented the sum total was but $272,590. 
The amended petition is for $495,355. 
The effect of not paying in the first 

Elace is seen in the growth of 500 hogs- 
eads of sugar in the first claim to 1,109 
hogsheads in the second, while the price 
of the sugar expanded from $200 per 
hogshead to $325 per hogshead. The 
800 cords of wood alleged, in the bill 
of particulars of 1871, to have been 
taken, grew to 3,000 cords in 1873. Forty 
mules, at $150 each, had multiplied to 
62 mules at $200 each. Five thousand 
bushels of corn were developed into 
26,600 bushels ; 500 pounds of bulk pork 
in 1871 grew to 5,000 pounds in 1873. 



146 



JOUNTIES FOR TREASON. 



What 20 Acres can produce when fer- 
tilized by perjury, with a snb-soil of 
Fraud— A Democratic House Commit- 
tee recommend the payment of a 
Claim rejected by the Southern 
Claims Commission for Fraud. 

Another specimen of a similar charac- 
ter is the claim of Mrs. Eliza Heber, 
presented in 1873 before the Southern 
Claims Commission, for losses and dam- 
ages to her plantation at or near Indian 
Village, Louisiana, while occupied by 
the troops of General Payne. Here is 
the bill : 

S,000 bbls. corn, $1,50 per bbl $12,000 

100 chickens, at$l each 100 

200 turkeys, at $2 each 400 

80 hogs, at $10 each 300 

8 oxen, at $50 each 400 

5 horses, at $160 each 800 

4 Hiules, at $125 each 500 

Unknown quantity of lumber, consisting 

of hogshead staves, pickets and posts. 5,000 

500 cords of wood, at $6 per cord 3,000 

Making a total of 22,500 

The Commission sent an agent to the 
•spot to investigate. He reported that 
the claim was fraudulent, and the 
claimant took no further steps to pros- 
ecute the matter before the commis- 
sion. But when the Democracy ob- 
tained possession of the House Mrs. 
Heber came up smiling and presented 
to that body the following list : 

-8,000 bbls. corn, at $2.50 per barrel $20,000 

1,500 cords of wood, at $4 66f per cord 7,000 

1 lot of lumbe^, staves, pickets, &c. 10,000 

1 pair carriage horses, at $500 each. . 1,000 

3 riding horses, at $300 each 900 

4 mules, at $300 each 1,200 

30 hogs, at $30 each 900 

5 choice milch cows 375 

30 head of cattle 500 

1 lot of poultry 100 

fencing and plantation destroyed 6,000 

Total 47,975 

That she had struck the right place 
this time was proved by the fact that 
•during the second session of the 45th 
Congress, John W. Caldwell, from the 
Committee on War Claims, in the House, 
to which committee this claim has been 
referred, submitted a report to accom- 
pany House bill 3293, saying " that Mrs. 
Eliza Heber should be paid as full com- 
pensation for all her claims for the 
property and supplies taken and used 
as aforesaid the sum of $23,150," and 
the committee reported a bill for that 
purpose, and recommended its passage. 

However, the fictitious character of 
the bill became known to Secretary 
Sherman and he dispatched an agent to 
investigate. The report showed that 
Mrs. Heber never had more than 40 
acres of land, one half of which was 
not subsceptible of cultivation, and 
that the claim was utterly fraudulent. 
General Payne said that he was in com- 
maud of less than 2,000 infantry, and 



was encamped only two weeks in the 
vicinity of the claimant. He said that 
it would have been an utter impossibil- 
ity for his men in the warm climate of 
Louisiana to have burned 1,500 cords of 
wood, or to have consumed 20,000 
bushels of corn. 

The bill awaits the election of an- 
other Democratic House. 



PART V. 

A Brief Review of some of 
the Rebel Claims — Direct 
Tax — Cotton Tax — Special 
Relief — Destruction of 
Property — Compensation 
for Slaves — Rebel Mail 
Contractors, «&c. — Tbey 
Already Reach Three 
Thousand Millions of 
Dollars—" Where will it 
end?" 

In a letter as late as October 31, 1873, 
but published, we believe, in 1876, R. 
M. T. Hunter, of Virginia, a United 
State Senator from that State prior to 
the rebellion, elaborates a plan by 
which the old slaveholders may evade 
the prohibitory clause of the Four- 
teenth Amendment respecting indem- 
nity for slaves liberated by the war. 

Sow Hunter proposes to Get Around 
the Fourteenth Amendment and Re- 
imburse the old Slaveholders for the 
Loss of their Slaves— $400,000,000. 

Hunter's sagacity is only equaled by 
his loyalty. The fourteenth amend- 
ment abolishes an " institution " of the 
Confederacy. It expels the last vestige 
of slavery from its soil and prohibits 
all compensation for slaves freed by the 
war. But the astute Hunter discovers 
that the prohibitory clause is uncon- 
stitutional, and therefore nugatory ; 
that the slaves were private property ; 
that their forcible emancipation was in 
the nature of seizing that property for 
public use without compensation, that 
the claim is in the individual owner; 
that the States, in the ratification of the 
fourteenth amendment, had no power 
or right to divert it ; and that conse- 
quently the owners of that property 
under the Constitution have valid or 
bona, fide claims for reasonable compen- 
sation—to wit, $400,000,000. 

Maryland formally asserts her claim 
for sueh compensation— Other slave 



BOUNTIES FOR TREASON. 



147 



States bave official lists of slaves, 
only awaiting Democratic ascen- 
dency. 

But a discovery so sagacious was uot 
original with Hunter. As early as 1867, 
in the Maryland constitutional conven- 
tion, he was anticipated by the equally 
sapient conventionists. They formally 
asserted the claim under the constitu- 
tion. They authorized the Legislature 
of Maryland to receive and dispose of 
the amounts due to their old slavehold- 
ing citizens when paid by the United 
States, and notoriously, in that as in 
other of the old slaveholding States, lists 
of the slaves emancipated have been 
prepared, and the claims covering their 
value only await for their payment the 
harvest of wholesale plunder when the 
Democracy shall pass into power. 

The "Missouri Climax of rapacity"— 
Claimants furnished official certifi- 
cates of losses by rebel raids— Democ- 
racy, when in power, will pay them. 

But in Missouri the climax of rapacity 
in proposed plunder has been reached. 
It is, however, only preliminary — only a 
precedent — for further wholesale or 
general spoliation. In Missouri, a State 
commission has investigated and official 
certificates have been awarded to all 
claimants for compensation for losses 
incurred or supplies taken by the rebel 
forces which overran its territory ; and 
these certificates, as the claims for 
indemnity for slaves, only await the suc- 
cess of the Democracy to be promptly 
honored by the government. 

Bills already introduced in Cong-ress 
as precedents for these Monstrous 
claims. 

Indeed, as precedents for their pay- 
ment, two bills, in the Forty-fourth 
Congress, were introduced by Messrs. 
Knott, of Kentcky, and House, of Ten- 
nessee, appropriating small amounts for 
property and supplies seized by the 
rebel forces, and if they are hereafter 
passed or recognized by Congress, and 
should the nation be again inflicted 
with a Democratic administration, Mis- 
souri and every State South will realize 
the prodigious amounts these claims 
will involve. 



PART VI. 

The Southern Mail Contrac- 
tors' Fraud — ALn attempt 
at Wholesale Robbery by 
Southern Statesmen 9 by 

means of barefaced False- 



hood — How Congressman 
Willits stopped the Steal. 

Up to 1877, the people of the North 
felt a sense of security from the machi- 
nations of Southern claimants, defended 
as they were by the following section 
of the Revised Statutes : 

Section 3480. It, shall be unlawful for any offi- 
cer to pay any account, claim, or demand 
against the United States which accrued or ex- 
isted prior to the 13th day of April, 1861, in favor 
of any person who promoted, encouraged, or 
in auy manner sustained the late rebellion, or 
in favor of any person who, during such rebel- 
lion, was not known to be opposed thereto, and 
distinctly iu favor of its suppression ; and no 
pardon heretofore granted, or hereafter to be 
granted, shall authorize the payment of such 
account, claim, or demand, until this section is 
modified or repealed But this section shall not 
be so construed to prohibit the payment of 
claims founded upon contracts made by any of 
the Departments, where such claims were as- 
signed or contracted to be assigned prior to the 
1st day of April. 1861, to the creditors of such 
contractors, loyal citizens of lo.val States, in 
payment of debts incurred prior to the 1st day 
of March, 1861. 

An Amendment Unshed Through. 

On the last day of the Forty-fourth 
Congress, however, in a moment of Re- 
publican triumph over the fraudulent 
attempt to seat Til den in the Presiden- 
tial chair, and in a spirit of magna- 
nimity, the following amendment to the 
above act was allowed to go through 
under a suspension of the rules : 

That the sum of $375,000, or so much thereof 
as may be necessary* be appropriated to pay 
the amount due to mail contractors for mail 
service performed in the States of Alabama, 
Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louis- 
iana. Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, 
South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee. Virginia, and 
West Virginia, in the years 1859, i860, and 1861, 
and before tlie said States respectively engaged in 
war against the United States ; and the provis- 
ion of section 3480 of the Re v ised Statutes of the 
United States shall not be applicable to the pay- 
ments therein authorized. Provided, That any 
such claims which have been paid by the Confed 
erate States Government shall not be again paid- 

A Hungry Horde of Perjurers rush 
upon the Treasury— Sherman's adroit 
move to circumvent tile Thieves. 

Instantly upon the passage of this act 
a horde of hungry claimants rushed to 
the Treasury and demanded a settle- 
ment of their accounts. Secretary 
Sherman, however, suspected fraud, and 
with characteristic caution decided that 
" no money be paid out of this appro- 
priation until the whole of the claims 
are received and adjusted, and if the 
appropriation is insufficient they should 
then be paid pro rata. 11 

Reagan's Rage— He overreaches him* 
self. 

This amounted to a proliibition of 
any payment at all, for the reason that 



148 



BOUNTIES FOR TREASON. 



many of the claimants had died in the 
service of the rebellion, and their fami- 
lies, if they had any, were scattered. 
Time for investigation was thus gained, 
but the exasperation of the ex-rebels 
knew no bounds. They did not pro- 
pose to submit, and accordingly Mr. 
Reagan, of Texas, ex-confederate Post- 
master-General, introduced a .joint reso- 
lution, and on the 16th of November, 
1877, it was reported back, in the fol- 
lowing words : 

Resolved, etc., That the Secretary of the Treas- 
ury shall begin at once to pay in full to the 
late mail coutractors of the States of Alabama, 
Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louis- 
iana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, 
South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, and 
West Virginia, their heirs or legal representa- 
tives, the amounts due under their respective 
contracts for the years eighteen hund: ed and 
fifty-nine, eighteen hundred and sixty, and 
eighteen hundred and sixty-one. ;md the ap- 
propriation of three hundred and seventy-five 
thousand dollars, made by act approved March 
third, eighteen hundred and seventy-seven, 
shall be immediately av triable for said pay- 
ments; Provided, That payments shall be made 
for services rendered up to May thirty-first, 
eighteen hundred and sixty-one, when discon- 
tinuance was ordered by the Postmaster Gen- 
eral, and not thereafter ; and the provisions of 
section thirty-four hundred and eighty of the 
Revised Statutes of the United States shall not 
be applicable to the payments herein authorized. 
All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith 
are hereby repealed. 

The Fraud Exposed. 

A comparison of this resolution with 
the act of March 3, 1877, above quoted, 
develops two important facts, viz : 

1. That it was sought, by this resolu- 
tion, to change the law in regard to 
time, by substituting "for services ren- 
dered up to May 31, 1861," in place of 
"before said States respectively en- 
gaged in war against the United States." 

This, as was subsequently shown by 
the celebrated speech of Hon. Edwin 
Willits, of Michigan, delivered in the 
House March 8, 1878, greatly extended 
the time and vastly iucreased the amount 
of the claims which the law was intended 
to recognize. For instance, the South 
Carolina contractors, that State having 
seceded December 20, 1860, would re- 
ceive, by the terms of Reagan's resolu- 
lutiou, pay for five months and ten days 
more of service than was provided for 
by the law of March 3, 1877— five months 
and ten days of service rendered to the 
rebel government. 

2. The second important fact is that 
in the resoltuion the proviso contained 
in the law was omitted entirely. And 
thereby hangs a tale. 

Reagan commits himself at large. 

During the debate on the resolution 
on February 15, 1878. Mr. Reagan said : 

The gentleman from Indiaua [Mr. Hanna] 
asks me if the bill now before the Committee of 
the Whole is the same as the one that was passed 



at the last session of Congress. As I remem- 
ber, it is the same with one exception, to which I 
may as well refer. That bill contained a clause 
providing that these claims should be paid ex- 
cept in cases where they had been paid by the 
Confederate government. I do not remember 
the exact language, but that is the purport of 
the exception. In the preparation of this joint 
resolution those words were omitted because I 
knew there teas no necessity for them. 

This in the face of the patent fact that 
two very important changes had been 
made, as above noted. Again, iu the 
same debate, in response to questions as 
to whether the Confederate government 
had paid any of these claims, Mr. Rea- 
gan said : 

At the same time by proclamation these post- 
masters and contractors were directed to settle 
their accounts with the Government of the 
United States up to the 1st day of June. 1861, 
and to pay over to the United States the money 
in their possession and to return to the United 
States the postage stamps of which they were 
possessed up to tbc date when the Confederate 
government took charge of the sei'vice. * * 

Now, upon the point that the Confederate 
government has not paid these claims I will state 
that the Confederate government only > under- 
took to pay for the service from the time it took 
charge of it, on the 1st day of June. 1861, and it 
had nothing whatever to do with the payment 
for services rendered previous to that date. 

Again he said : 

I stated that under that same proclamation 
the postmasters of the Confederacy were all re- 
quired to settle up their accounts with the Fed- 
eral Goverment to the 1st day of June, 1861, and 
pay over the money due to the Government and 
return all postage-stamps due to the Govern- 
ment. * * * * 

How fully these settlement- were made I do 
not know. There was time to make them, and 
many were made. The Confederate govern- 
ment never received or collected one dollar due 
from the receipts of the Post-Office Department 
or postage stamps, and they never paid a dollar 
to a contractor which had become due before the 
1st day of June, 1861; but they recpiired all 
postmasters to turn over the entire amount of 
money received by them up to that dale, and the 
contractor who claimed that money was due for 
postal service up to that date, over to the 
United States Government. 



Thus Mr. Reagan, in his capacity of 
ex- Postmaster- General of the Southern 
Confederacy, fully committed himself. 
He did not know that his own reports 
on this subject were among the rebel ar- 
chives stored in Washington. Messrs. 
Conger and Willits did know that fact. 

The debate for the day ended, and 
was not resumed till March 8, 1878. 
Meantime the rebel archives were 
searched, and Mr. Willits prepared him- 
self for the speech which defeated the 
resolution, showed Mr. Reagan in his 
true light, and did more to open the eyes 
of the North to the fraudulent character 
of Southern claims generally than any- 
thing that had occurred for years before. 

Willits punctures the Oreat ex-Rebel 
Cabinet Minister, Shakes his own re- 
ports in his face, and proves his state- 



BOUNTIES FOR TREASON. 



149 



ments to be Untrue in every essential I 
particular. 

The facts discovered in Reagan's own | 
Teports were, in brief, as follows: 

In proclamations, dated respectively Mont- 
^omi ry, Ala., May 13 and 20, 1861, and signed by 
'•John H. Reagan, Postmaster General." all 
postmasters, route and special agents, all mail 
contractors, mail messengers, and special con- 
tractors are required to retain in their posses- 
sion, and turn over to the Confederate Postmas- 
ter General, the said John H. Reagan, for the 
benefit of the Confederate States, all revenue or 
moneys which shall have accrued from tlio pos- 
tal service of the United States prior to the 
1st of June, 1861 — all mail-bags, locks, and keys, 
marking and other stamps, blanks for quarterly 
returns of postmasters, and a 1 other property 
belonging to or connected with the postal serv- 

In a statement of Auditor Baker, of the Con- 
federate Post Office Department, of October 1, 
1862, the aggregate of these claims of contrac- 
tors for mail set-vices prior to May 31, 1861, is 
given as $773,444.17. By Confederate laws, ap- 
proved repectively August 30, 1861, January 23, 
1862, and September 27, 1862, these claims are 
assumed by the Confederate Government, $800,- 

000 are appropriated for their payment, and 
■contractors were required, in receiving their 
payments, to agree that if the United States 
should ever pay them anything for these serv- 
ices they should refund it to the Confederate 
government. 

All these facts, so violently in conflict with 
Mr. Reagan's statements in the House, are fully 
verified by his own several reports as Confed- 
erate Postmaster General up to that of May 2, 
1864— the last which could be found— with the 
further fact that at that date, of the claims 
for whiGh he is now urging an appropriation of 
$375,000 by the United States, he had himself 
paid $564,544.22, and the presumption that dur- 
ing the remaining eleven months of the Confed- 
eracy every dollar of them had been paid. 

Mr. Willits concluded his speech as 
follows : 

It is proved beyond question that the Confed 
erate government did undertake to pay these 
claims, did appropri at -$800,000 for that purpose, 
and that they were audited and largely if not 
entirely paid by or under the supervision of 
the gentleman from Texas himself. It is clear 
that the striking out of the proviso to the act 
of March 3, 1877, would very materially change 
the terms and scope of it. I have no comments 
to make on how it came to be stricken out. I 
make no charges. I impugn no man's motives, 
much less those of the gen 1 lemau from Texas ; 

1 simply state the f*cts as I find them, and 
leave thus the whole subject to the considerate 
judgment of this House and the country. 

Thus it was proved that the resolution 
was conceived in fraud, and brought 
forth bv the very man, of all others, 
whose business it was to know the true 
character and effect of the measure. 

It is charity to suppose that Mr. Rea- 
gan did not know that his statements 
made on the loth of February were 
false; but whoever indulges in that 
charity must do so at the risk of his rep- 
utation for common intelligence. 

The Bill Squelched. 

On the 16th of March, 1878, the reso- 
lution was reported back to the House 
from the Committee of the Whole with 



the enacting clause stricken out. The 
previous question was demanded and 
seconded and the main question or- 
dered—the question being upon agree- 
ing to the report. A motion was made 
to reconsider the vote by which the 
main question was ordered, which mo- 
tion was disagreed to by the following 
vote: 

Yeas— Messrs. Aiken, Atkins. H. P. Bell, Black- 
burn, Bliss, Boae, Bridges, Broaden, J. W. Caldwell, 
W. P. Caldweu Chalmers, J. B. Clarke, Cook, S. S. 
Cox, Cravens, t ttenden, Culberson, Dibrell, Durham, 
Eden, Elam, Ellis, Ewing, FtHon, Forney, Franklin, 
Garth, Cause, Gibson, Gtddivgs, Glover, Goode, Gun- 
ter, H. R. Harris, J. T. Harris, Harrison, Hartridge, 
Henkle, Henry, G. W. Hewitt, Herbert, Hooker, House, 
J. T. Jones, Kimmed, Knott, Lizon, Martin, McKen- 
zie, Money, Morgan, Morrison, Muldrow, Quinn, Rae, 
Reagan, Riddle, W. M. Robbins, Roberts, Scales, 
Schleicher, Shelly, W. E. Smith, Springer, Steele, 
Thornburgh, Throckmorton, Tucker, N. B. Vance, 
WaddeU, G. C. Walker, Walsh, Whitthorne, J. N. Wil- 
liams, A. S. W.llis, B. Wilson. Yeates, Young— 78. 

Nays— Messrs. A'drich, B icon, G. A.. Barley, J. 
H. Bak r, W. H. Baker, Ballou, Bayne, Benedict, 
Bicknell, Bisbee, Bouck, Boyd, Rragg, Brentano, 
Brewer, Briggs T. M. Browne, Bundy. H. C. 
Burchard, Burdick, Cain, Camp, J. M. Campbell, 
Cannon, Caswell, Claflin, R. Clark, Cobb, Cole, 
Collins, Conger, J. D. Cox, Cummihgs, Culler, Dan- 
ford, H. Davis, Deering, Denison, Dunnell, Dwight, 
Eam's, Errett, J. L. Evans, E. B. Finley, Fort, 
Foster, Frye, Fuller, Gardner, Garfield. A. H. Hamil- 
ton, Harde iburgh, B. W. Harris, Hart, HartzeU, 
Haskell, P. C. Hayes, Hazelton, Henderson, J.. S. 
Hewitt, Hubbell. H. L. Humphrey, Hungerford, 
Itueer, James, J. S. Jones, Joyce, Keifer, Keight- 
ley, Kelley, G. M. Landers, Lapham, Lathrop, 
Lindsey, Loriug, Maish, Marsh, Mayham, CcCook, 
McKinley, McMahon, Mi chell, Monroe, H. S. 
Meale, Norcross, Oliver, O'Neill, Page, G. W. Pat- 
terson, T. M. Patterson, Phelps, W. A. Phillips, 
Pollard, C. N. Potter, Pound, Pric?, Randolph, 
Reed, J. B. Reilly, W. W. Rice, G. D. Robinson, M. 
S. Robinson, Ryan, Sampson, Sapp, Shallenberger, 
Sinnickson. Smalls, A. H. Smith, Starin, Stenger, 
Stewart, J. W. Stone, J. C. St me, J. M. Thompson, 
Tipton, R- W. Townsend, Van Vorhes, Veeder, 
Wait, Warner, Watson. Welch, M. D. White, A. A. 
S.-Williams,C. G. Williams, J. Williams, R. Will- 
iams, Williits, Wren, Wright— 131. 

Whereupon the report was agreed to 
without a division, and the bill was 
dead. 

The above vote shows two Republi- 
cans (from Southern and border States) 
voting yea, and 102 Republicans voting 
nay, while 76 Democrates voted yea, and 
only 29 Democrats voted nay. 

Thus, by the admission of one flash of 
the sunlight of truth, was defeated a 
bill which was but the entering wedge 
for thousands of similar claims, involving 
millions of money— claims which, like 
nine-tenths of all Southern demands 
upon the National Treasury, were found- 
ed upon fraud and supported by delib- 
erate falsehood and perjury. 

The Senate Tries its Hand. 

A subsequent attempt was made in 
the Senate to force this bill through by 
tacking it to the Sundry Civil Bill. 
With some modifications it passed that 
body, but was dropped in the Commit- 
tee of Conference. The Democrats vot- 



150 



BOUNTIES FOR TREASON. 



ed solidly for the bill, and the Republi- j 
cans voted solidly against it, with the 
exception of Bruce, Christiancy, Con- 
over, and Kellogg. 



PART VII. 

Another Catering Wedge — 
The William and Mary 
College Steal. 

Another "entering wedge" consisted 
of the following bill, introduced in the 
House by Mr. Gloode (Democrat), of 
Virginia, on the 29th of October, 1877 : 

Be it enacted, <&c, That the Secretary of the 
Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized and 
directed to pay to the college of William and 
Mary, in Virginia, the sum of $65,000 out of any 
moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appro- 
priated, to reimburse said college for the de- 
struction of its buildings and other property 
destroyed without authority by disorderly sol- 
diers of the United States during the late war ; 
Provided, That no moneys be so paid except 
upon accounts of such destruction, and the 
damage caused thereby, duly verified and pro- 
ven. 

The bill was referred to the Commit- 
tee on Education and Labor, the object 
being, as was afterwards developed, to 
conceal, as far as possible, its true char- 
acter of a Southern "war claim." 

On December 5, 1877, it was committed 

to the Committee of the Whole, accom- 
panied by a report setting forth a state- 
ment to the effect that the building of 
the College of William and Mary was 
burned by "drunken and disorderly sol- 
diers of the United States." 

The bill was debated at considerable 
length and it became evident that the 
ex-Confederates were determined to 
force it through. 

Alarm of tbe Northern Democrats. 

The Northern Democrats, in view of 
the approaching Congressional elections, 
became alarmed and made frantic ap- 
peals to their " Southern brethren" not 
to press the bill " at this time." They 
were reminded that the Democracy had 
" not yet obtained possession of the Sen- 
ate," etc., etc., but all to no purpose. 
The ex-Confederates had selected this 
particular case, because it was the least 
vulnerable of all in the numerous class 
it represented ; they were assured of the 
support of a few sentimental Republi- 
cans who remembered only that the Col- 
lege was an ancient institution of learn- 
ing and the alma mater of many whose 
names were revered by all Americans ; 
and they hoped to establish by the aid 
of such Republicans a precedent that 
would be all the more binding because 
the Senate was still Republican. 



Something must be done, p. d. q. 

In this condition of things something 
had to be done, and quickly done, to 
frighten the Southern members into rea- 
son and save the elections in the North. 
And then it was that Bragg, a Wiscon- 
sin Democrat, was put forward to give 
voice to Northern Democratic ante-elec- 
tion sentiment, and in a speech delivered 
May 1, 1878, he entreated his Southern 
friends as follows : 

Bragg's Frantic Appeal. 

I appeal to my Southern friends on this side 
of the House, will you deliberately rake the 
ashes off the slumbering embers, and fan them 
into a blaze again? I believe in my heart yon 
will not. But I am bound to tell you, and I do 
it in kindness ; * * * the people of the North 
will never submit to be taxed to reimburse your 
people or your States out of the National Treas- 
ury for any losses that they sustained, directly 
or indirectly, from the rebellion. * * * There 
may be men in the North— their voice has been 
heard on this floor speaking words of et cour- 
agement to you in presenting claims like this 
one for reimbursement ; but it is no true ex- 
pression of Northern sentiment ; they are the 
words of a siren that mres to death. You heard 
them and trusted them in i860 and 1861 ; will 
you trust them again now? 

This was very well done, and it had 
its effect, as will be presently seen ; but 
in interpreting Democratic sentiment 
in the North he rather overdid the busi- 
ness, as will be seen by the following 
from the same speech : 

The loss of houses and other sufferings by the 
general ravages of war have never beea com- 
pensated by this or any other government. 
—[American State Papers, Claims, p. 199 ] * * * 

The College of William and Mary forfeited 
any right which she may have had as an edu- 
cational institution sacred from the touch of 
war, by b coming herself an engine of war, an 
active participant in the rebellion. She not 
only sent her pupils to the red field of battle 
with words of encouragement and blessing, but 
she banished the muses from her groves, threw 
wide open her gates, and made her venerable 
halls barracks for soldiery to destroy the Gov- 
ernment from which now in all humility she 
asks recompense. I do not state this too 
strongly; the report shows that before the 
footsteps of a Northern soldier darkened her 
halls they had been converted into barracks 
and a hospital in aid of the rebellion. The 
learned faculty cannot plead ignorance of con- 
sequences in case of failure, but they never 
counted failure among the possibilities. 
* ■ * * * * 

It matters not if I am called a bigot or fanatic, 
I maintain that this bill is a crafty device to 
foist upon us Southern war claims as skillfully 
planned and as certain in results as the wooden 
horse that carried woe and ruin within the 
walls of far-famed Troy. 

The amount proposed to be given is not large, 
but the shadow it casts before it is large enough 
to darken the land. 

The Rebels Frightened and Retreat till 
after the Storm.is over. 

The speech had the desired effect, and 
on the 10th of May, 1878, Mr. Goode 
moved that the bill be passed over. 
The elections were held, Bragg was re- 
elected, and the Senate was to become 



BOUNTIES FOR TREASON. 



151 



Democratic on March 4, 1879. The 
bill meantime was not pressed to a final 
vote till January 10, 1879. The North- 
ern sentimentalists were true to their 
promises, and when opportunity offered 
gushed with the lofty sentiments of a 
college valedictory, and filled the House 
with sophomorical eloquence and com- 
mencement platitudes. Indeed, it seemed 
for a time that the bill was destined to 
pass ; and it remained for Mr. Conger, 
of Michigan, to give it the final coup cle 
grace, which not only killed that partic- 
ular measure, but saved millions of dol- 
lars which would otherwise have been 
demanded for similar losses during the 
war. In the course of his speech on that 
occasion Mr. Conger said : 

Conger's Expose of the Fraud— The 
Rebels Destroyed the College Them- 
selves—The Author of the Bill was 
There and Knew the Facts. 

These gentlemen would have yon believe that 
on that day (when the Union soldiers entered 
Williamsburgh) this university, sacred to educa- 
tion, was the abode of peace, the home of men 
pursuing their studies under the light of the 
midnight lamp, and that on the morning after 
they heard the resounding cannon and lifted 
their worn and weary heads from the toil and 
study of the old books that were gathered in 
this sacred institution of learning, that they 
threw off their cowls and their caps, and they 
laid aside their robes and looked out of their 
windows and down into the court of this college, 
awakening from that philosophical dream of 
years, and inquired, "What means all this con- 
fusion; [laughter;] what cause * this disturb- 
ance within the sacred precincts of learning? " 
as if they had never heard of war ; as if for 
years they had not been teaching war and rebel- 
lion from the dome to the foundation of that old 
university ; as if for months it had not been a 
deserted building, because its president and its 
professors and its students, aye, down to those 
of fifteen years of age, had donned the armor of 
the Southern republic and gone to do the bat- 
tles of the South ! 

What was the condition of this college when 
our troops marched int o Williamsburg h and occu- 
pied that city ? What was the repose, the peace- 
fulness of this venerable institution ? Its pres- 
ident was even then flushed with the excitement 
of the preceding conflict; its professors, some of 
them wounded and laid low ; some of them in- 
mates of the same building then used as a hos- 
pital. 

What else was this building used for on that 
day? It was a prison-house. Yes, Mr. Chair- 
man, William and Mary College on the 8th day 
of May, 1862, when General McClellan rode with 
his staff of officers into Williamsburgh and re- 
paired directly to the college building, at that 
moment it was the prison-house of Union offi- 
cers and Union soldiers confined there — 
wounded, bleeding, dying, prisoners of the Union 
Army gathered into that college, this sacred in- 
stitution of learning ; gathered there to be kept; 
gathered there to die. 

More than that, it was then a hospital, and 
had been for a long time previous. It was tilled 
with the wounded, with the dying, with the 
dead from those armies. What was its condi- 
tion ? Outside the fences hadbeen broken down, 
the grass-plats destroyed, even the beautiful 
monument which had been placed in the front of 
that building had been destroyed by Southern 
troops who had occupied it asaprison, as a hos- 
pital, as a garrison. The walls of the building 
were defaced, outside and in; the fences, the 
stone column* were broken ; the trees were cut 



down; the monument of a distinguished Vir- 
ginian was defaced when our troops fir^t came 
in sight of and up to this building. * * * * 

Such, then, was the condition of this univer- 
sity when it came into the hands of Union men. 
It was cleansed; it was purified; the Confeder- 
ates were driven from it ; the wounded soldiers- 
were removed to a better hospital as soon as 
possible. It is true it was occupied, peacefully 
occupied, by Union troops from that time until 
the next September. Tt was cleanly in its occu- 
pation; no damage was done to it. There is not a 
particle of proof anywhere that .after our troops 
took possession of that building there was the 
least damage done to it. On the other hand, its 
condition wa« vastly improved until about the 
8th or 9th of the September following; I willnot 
be exact about the date. Then the Confeder- 
ates, under Colonel Shingles, seeing how we pre- 
served that college, attacked Williamsburgh, 
and by surprise captured Colonel Campbell and 
several of his officers. What they did. why they 
did it, is unexplained by these gentlemen. 

On the lower floors of the building there was 
a large amount of medical stores for the wounded 
and the sick of both armies and k11 armies, de- 
posited there for use. Whether it was burned 
in that attack, whether the tire was set there by 
rebel soldiers; whether it was burned by Union 
soldiers, or whether it caught fire accidentally r 
I have examined with great care to find some 
proof and have beeu able to find none. 

When Colonel Shingles was killed and 
several of his officers taken prisoners, and his 
troops driven from the city of* Williamsburgh, in 
the very midst of the conflict, about long enough 
for a Are which had been kindled in that build- 
ing by Confederate troops while they were in its 
occupancy to make itself visible, a fire broke 
out, and there was no time in the midst of deadly 
conflict to maintain our possession in that city r 
to extinguish the fire. A surprise far within 
our lines liad taken place; the college had been 
seized by the Confederates ; a tight was going 
on. In some way the combustibles within that 
building, whatever t.jey may have been, took 
fire. In the very heat of the conflict, while our 
troops were driving the enemy outside of the 
city, the building was burned. That is the his- 
tory of it ; brief, short, correct. 

Mr. Conger also showed that the au- 
thor of the bill was present at the time 
of the burning, and consequently knew 
the facts — knew that the bill was found- 
ed on fraud, and that the report accom- 
panying it was false in every essential 
particular. 

A lame and impotent effort was made 
to break the force of Mr. Conger's 
speech, after which a vote was taken 
and the bill was defeated by a vote of 
87 yeas to 127 nays — 75 not voting. Of 
the Republican votes there were 98 nays 
to 9 yeas ; of the Democratic, 77 yeas to 
29 nays. In other words, nearly 3 to 1 
of the Democrats favored the bill, while 
more than ten to one of the Republicans 
opposed and killed the bill for the time 
being. 

Still another wedge— Claim of the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Seminary of Vir- 
ginia. 

Within ten days of the defeat of the 
William and Mary College bill, another 
bill came up in the House for the " use 
and occupation " of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Theological Seminary near Alex- 
andria, Va., as a hospital for Union sol- 
diers — in the words following: 



152 



BOUNTIES FOR TREASON. 



Be it enacted, etc , That there be, and is hereby, 
appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury 
not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $20,000 
in full payment of rent due to the Trustees of 
the Protestant Episcopal Theological Semi- 
nary and High School in Virginia, for the use 
and occupation of their buildings and other 
property (located near Alexandria) for hospital 
purposes. 

Sec. 2. That this act be in force from and after 
the passage thereof. 

On the 31st January, 1879, a motion to 
strike out the enacting clause carried by 
122 yeas to 89 nays— 77 not voting. Of 
the Republican votes there were 97 yeas 
to 8 nays ; of the Democratic, 81 nays to 
25 yeas. Thus the vote showed a pro- 
portion of more than 3 to 1 Democrats in 
favor of the bill, while 12 to 1 of the Re- 
publicans opposed and defeated it. 

Other Steals in the Name of Religion 
and Education. 

A host of other bills awaited action on 
the William and Mary fraud, from which 
the following are selected as samples : 

By Mr. Haralson, Ala. A bill to pav the Med- 
ical College of Alabarc a $50,000 for loss sustained 
fcy militaiy occupancy. 

By Mr. Clark, Mo. A bill to pay the Univer- 
sity of Missouri $17,475 for damages done by sol- 
diers of the Union army. 

By Mr. Young, Tenn. A bill to pay LaGrange 
■Synodical College, Tennessee, $34,300 for rent 
and destruction of building' by United States 
troops. 

By Mr. House, Tenn. A bill to pay Shelby 
Medical College, at Nashville $20,604.90 lor rent 
•and for property taken from said building dur- 
ing the war. 

By Mr. Tucker, Va. A bill to pay Washington 
and Lee University, (formerly Washington Uni- 
versity) $17,484 for injury cone to said Univer- 
sity in June, 1864. 

By Mr. Riddle, Tenn. A bill to pay Cumber- 
land University, Tennessee, $10,000 for property 
appropriated by Union soldiers. 

By Mr. Durham, Ky. A bill to pay Madison 
Female Academy $10,325 for damage done said 
Institution by Union troops. 

By Mr. Bright, Tenn. A bill to pay the Pres- 
byterian Church of Murfreesborough, Tennes- 
see, $10,000, said church having been used as a 
Jiospital for sick and wounded Union soldiers. 



PART VIII. 

Conger's Proposed Consti- 
tutional Amendment Pro- 
hibiting Payment of Rebel 
Claims — The Vote Thereon 
— It is Opposed to Demo- 
cratic I*©llcy to m rkc loy- 
alty a Test for Rebel 
Claimants. 

On the 19th of June, 1878, Mr. Conger 
(Republican) moved the House to sus- 
pend the rules and pass the following : 



Joint resolution proposing an amendment to 
the Constitution prohibiting the payment of 
claims of disloyal persons for property in- 
jured or destroyed in the late war of the re- 
bellion. 

Akticle XVI. 

No claims shall ever hereafter be allowed or 
paid by the United States, whether as damages 
or otherwise, for any property, real or personal, 
taken, used, injured, or destroyed by United 
States troops, or by or through any officer, civil 
or military, acting under or by authority of the 
United States,or from anv other cause whatever, 
during the suppression of the late rebellion in 
any of the States that were in rebellion against 
the Government of the United States, or for 
any property taken, used, injured, or destroyed 
outside of the said States so in rebellion, and 
which belonged to persons residing in such re- 
bellious States, unless the person or persons 
owning the property so taken, used, injured, or 
destroyed were, during all the time of such re- 
bellion, loyal to the (Government of the United 
States, and gave neither aid or encouragement 
to the enemy. 

After some delay and confusion, the 
rules were suspended, and the resolu- 
tion passed by 145 yeas to 61 nays. The 
fact that only 43 Democrats voted for, 
and 61 Democrats voted against it (102 
Republicans voted for, and none against 
it), shows plainly enough what the Dem- 
ocrats would do in the matter of rebel 
claims had they the power. 

The Solid South "in" for rebel claims— 
A warning; to the North. 

It will be observed that of the 84 "not 
voting" 34 were absent Republicans, and 
that 50 Democrats failed to vote whether 
present or not. The further fact that 
of the 61 Democrats who voted nay, 52 
are Southern Democrats, shows how 
solid the Southern States would stand 
against any such contemplated constitu- 
tional amendment, and how little chance 
it would have of getting the needed as- 
sent of three-fourths of the States. 

The reason, and the only reason, why 
the South objects to Mr. Conger's pro- 
posed amendment is that it requires 
proof of loyalty during the rebellion, thus 
doing away with the retroactive effect 
of pardons and amnesty. 

As the Constitution now stands they 
hold that proof of a pardon or a proc- 
lamation of general amnesty is equiva- 
lent to "proof that the party never gave 
aid and comfort to the rebellion." Un- 
der Conger's proposed amendment, re- 
quiring proof that the, claimant was loy- 
al during the rebellion, all hope of relief 
by the action of even a Democratic Con- 
gress would be cut off; and many a 
Southern gentleman, who is now mourn- 
fully loafing around the grass-grown 
streets of his native village, bewailing 
the " lost cause," the delay in securing 
Democratic control of the Government, 
and the consequent postponement of his 
little bill for damages, would be obliged 
to go to work and earn an honest liv- 
ing. 



BOUNTIES FOR TREASON. 



153 



PART IX. 

The great danger from 
Demoeratie Ascendency — 
The Jieal Dow Case — How 
a rebel court aided by a 
Democratic Judge of the 
Supreme Court proposed 
to steal from a Union Col- 
onel. 

Another ever-present danger which 
menaces the country through a possible 
Democratic ascendency in Congress, 
consists in the power which lies in 
that body to change the character of 
the Supreme Court. One of the most 
striking illustrations of this danger is 
the celebrated case against General 
Neal Dow, of Maine. 

During the war, when General Dow, 
then a colonel in the Union army, was 
actively engaged in the field, a suit was 
commenced against him in a New Or- 
leans court for damages sustained by 
the plaintiff, a foraging squad of the 
Colonel's regiment having seized and 
appropriated some property belonging to 
said plaintiff. Col. Dow was duly 
served with a summons, but being ac- 
tively engaged in the field it was utterly 
impossible for him to respond, and did 
not dream that it was possible that a 
civil suit could be brought in the 
country of the insurgents .against offi- 
cers of the invading army of the Union. 
The result was that judgment was taken 
by default. 

At the close of the war an execution 
was issued on the judgment and sent to 
Maine where it was sued in the United 
States court, Judge Clifford, of the Su- 
preme Court, presiding. It so happened 
that Judge Clifford sat alone in the first 
instance, and took the case under ad- 
visement and held it there for eight 
years. At the end of that time and just 
about the time when Mr. Tilden's opin- 
ion became known that "every soldier 
who marched across Southern soil was a 
trespasser, and liable to suit for dam- 
ages in an action for trespass, 11 Judge 
Clifford decided the case, affirming the 
judgment of the Loui iana court. At 
that time, however, Judge Clark sat 
with him and dissented, so that the case 
was sent to the Supreme Court. 



Clifford's Opinion and Tilden's views 
coincide — How the Democracy pro- 
pose to pay all claims— A simple and 
comprehensive Program. 

These two opinions— those of Judge 
Clifford and Samuel J. Tilden— show 
clearly, and officially, what the judg- 
ment of a Democratic court would be in 
case the rebels should adopt a similar 
course to collect damages for losses 
sustained during the war. 

The whole matter of collecting rebel 
claims would be vastly simplified under 
a Democratic Congress like the 44th, a 
Democratic President like Mr. Tilden, 
and a Democratic court composed of 
judges like the late Judge Clifford. To 
obtain all these it is only necessary to elect 
a Democratic Congress. That body 
would count in the President, and then 
proceed to increase the number of 
judges on the supreme bench until a 
Democratic majority was secured. The 
rest would be easy. 

A small Law with great Results. 

The passage of one short law, cover- 
ing only three points, would bankrupt 
the Treasury and destroy our public 
credit. These points are : / 

1. That no proof of loyalty shall be 
required before the Southern Claims 
Commission, or before any department 
of the Government other than that re- 
quired by the United States Supreme 
Court iu suits at law ; i. e., no proof 
whatever. 

2. That the statute of limitations shall 
not apply in case of any war claims 
otherwise allowable against any in- 
dividual, or against the United States. 
If there be any question of law about 
the power to revive a claim against an 
individual, once barred by the statute 
of limitations, there is certainly none 
as to the power of the Government to 
revive it against itself. 

3. That "reasonable compensation 
may be recovered by all citizens of the 
United States for the use and occupa- 
tion of their property by the United 
States army, or any part thereof, dur- 
the late civil war."— See Middle's bill, 
H. B, 2364, Uth Congress. 

That such a law would be promptly 
passed by a Democratic Congress, ap- 
proved and enforced by a Democratic 
President, and sustained by a Demo- 
cratic Supreme Court, no one can doubt 
who has read the history of that party. 



154 



RIVER AND HARBOR APPROPRIATION. 



CHAPTEE VIIL 



The River and Harbor Appropriation. 



PART I. 

Report of the Committee on 

Commerce. 

On June 6, 1882, Mr. Page, from the 
Committee on Commerce, presented to 
the House a bill "making appropriations 
for the construction, completion, repair, 
and preservation of certain works on 
rivers and harbors, and for other pur- 

Soses," with the recommendation that it 
o pass, without amendment, and sub- 
mitted the following report : 

Painstaking care of the Committee — 
The reports based on the recommen- 
dations of Boards of Trade, Cham- 
bers of Commerce, Army Engineers, 
State Officials, etc. 

In making this recommendation the commit- 
tee beg to state that they have been constantly- 
engaged for the past four months in examining 
with painstaking labor and care and thorough- 
ness, all the estimates of the Engineer Depart- 
ment, supplemental and otherwise, and have 
been guided in their conclusions by the recom- 
mendations therein contained; that in their de- 
sire to do equal aud exact justice to all parts 
of the country they have accorded hearings to 
all Senators, Representatives, and Delegates 
expressing a desire to be heard on any item or 
items appearing in the regular estimates, or in 
the Engineer's reports supplemental thereto : 
that they have also, for like reasons, granted 
hearings to the Mis issippi River Commission, to 
delegations representing conventions, boards of 
trade and transportation, and chambers of com- 
merce, and also, in certain cases, to Army engi- 
neers and State and city officials, and others, 
from all sections of the land; and that the re- 
sulting bill has been prepared with a view sole- 
ly to the improvement of navigation in our navi- 
gable streams and harbors and the benefit of 
commerce. 

liberality towards works of vast 
National Importance. 

The bill reported appropriates in the aggre- 
gate $17,342,875, including $925,000 for the Mis- 
souri River, $4,923,000 for improving the Missis- 
sippi River, and $780,000 for other works on those 
two streams ; the amount appropriated by the 
bill outside of the amounts appropriated for 
the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers being $10,714,- 
875. For the improvement of the Mississippi 
River, from the head of the Passes up to Cairo, 
the bill appropriates all that the commission ask 
for, the committee believing that this is a work 
of such vast national importance and of such a 
peculiar and intricate character that the com- 
mission should not only be left entirely unhamp- 
ered by conditions of any character whatsoever, 
but that it should also have abundant means 
for the completion of this great work at the 
earliest possible period. 



The People's Unanimous Demand for 
protection against undue exactions 
of Railroad Companies. 

The bill deals liberally with all such works as 
will largely and generally facilitate the com- 
merce of the nation, by opening up the great 
waterways of the country to free navigation. 
The committee believe that at no time in the 
history of our government have the people so 
unanimously demanded of Congress liberal ap- 
propriations for rivers and harbors ; that at no 
time in its history has the United States Treas- 
ury been in such a condition as to warrant large 
expenditures in this direction for the public 
good ; and that it is of infinite importan e, for 
the protection of the public from the undue ex- 
actions of railroad companies, that the great 
natural highways of commerce, the riyers of the 
country, shall be placed in the best condition to 
compete with them. 

The Tax on Luxuries should be Retained 
and the Money Expended for building 
up Neglected Industries. 

The committee believe that it is the desire of 
the people rather than reduce the taxes upon 
the luxuries of life, as has been contemplated 
by this House, that relief be given to them by 
large appropriations for internal improvements; 
that the surplus revenues should be expended 
for the benefit of such sections as are mo<t in 
need of such improvements, so that the long- 
neglected industries and commerce of the South 
may be properly stimulated, and those of all 
other portions of the United States may have 
needed relief. 

Some af the so-called "Creeks" found 
upon examination to be Important 
Harbors. 

While pursuing this general policy as to the 
larger water-ways of the country, the commit- 
tee have not placed in this bill appropriations 
for small streams of no importance to com- 
merce. In the cases of many tidal streams, 
which are termed "creeks," the committee 
found, after examination, tuat they were larger 
and more important to commerce and naviga- 
tion than many of the rivers of the country. 
Many works have been commenced for which 
largo appropriations have already been made. 
In such cases the rule has generally been fol- 
lowed of piving from one-third to one-half of 
the amount recommended by the Engineers, and 
which they say can be profitably expended 
during the fiscal year. 

Reckless system of New Surveys dis- 
countenanced — Caution as to New 

Works. 

The committee, believing that it is better 
for the government to complete the work al- 
ready commenced, have been very careful as to 
making appropriations for new works, however 
meritorious. The system hitherto prevailing, 
of making appropriations for the surveys with- 
out reference to the r merits has opened the 
door to an avalanche of surveys and unusual 
pressure to make appropriations for the com- 
mencement of the work. A provision has 



RIVER AND HARBOR APPROPRIATION. 



155 



therefore been inserted in the bill that before | 
any such survey can be made, the local engi- , 
neer, when directed by the Cbief Engineer, j 
must make an examination as to whether the 
work is worthy of improvement and a public 
necessity, and report upon the same to the En- 
gineer's Department. 



The 



PART II. 

President's 

Message. 



Speeial 



Liberal appropriations had been pre- 
viously recommended by President Ar- 
thur in the following message : 

The Creation of the Mississippi River 
Commission. 

To the Senate and Bouse of Representatives : 

I transmit herewith a letter dated the 29th 
ultimo, from the Secretary of War, inclosing 
copy of a communication from the Mississippi 
River Commission, in which the commission 
iecommend8 that an appropriation may be 
made of $1,000,000 for "closing existing gaps in 
levees," in addition to the like sum for which an 
estimate has already been submitted. 

The subject is one of such importance that I 
deem it proper to recommend early and favor- 
able consideration of the recommendations of 
the commission. Having possession of and juris- 
diction over the river, Congress, with a view of 
improving its navigation and protecting the 
people of the valley from floods, has for years 
caused surveys of the river to be made, for the 
purpose of acquiring knowledge of the laws 
that control it, and of its phenomena. By act- 
approved June 28, 1879, the Mississippi River 
Commission was created, composed of able en- 
gineers. Section 4 of the act provides that "it 
shall be the duty of said commission to take 
into consideration and mature such p'an or 
plans and estimates as will correct, permanent- 
ly locate, and deepen the channel, and protect 
the banks of the Mississippi River ; improve 
and give safety and ease to the navigation 
thereof ; prevent destructive floods ; promote 
and facilitate commerce, trade, and the postal 
service." 

Constitutionality of the Appropria- 
tion. 

The constitutionality of a law making appro- 
priations in aid of these objects cannot be 
questioned. While the report of the commis- 
sion submitted and the plans proposed for the 
river's improvement seem justified as well on 
scientific principles as by experience and the 
approval of the people most interested. I desire 
to leave it to the judgment of Congress to de- 
cide upon the best plan for the permanent and 
complete improvement of the navigation of the 
river and for the protection of the valley. 

The Widespread Suffering to be relieved 
by the Improvements. 

The immense losses and widespread suffering 
of the people dwelling near the river induce me 
to urge upon Congress the propriety ot not only 
making an appropriation to close the gaps in 
the levees occasioned by the recent floods, as 
recommended by the commission, but that 
Congress should inaugurate measures for the 
permanent improvement of the navigation of 
the river and security of the Valley. It may be 
that such a system of improvement would as it 



progressed require the appropriation of twenty 
or thirty millions of dollars. Even such an ex- 
penditure, extending as it must over several 
years, cannot be regarded as extravagant in 
view of the immense interests involved. 

The Valne of the Improvement to the 
Great Northwest, and as a Means of 
Keeping the Balance of Trade in Our 
Favor. 

The safe and convenient navigation of the 
Mississippi is a matter of concern to all sections 
of the country, but to the Northwest, with its im- 
mense harvests, needing cheap transportation 
to the sea, and to the inhabitants of the river val- 
ley, whose lives and property depend upon the 
proper construction of the safeguards which pro- 
tect them from the floods, it is of vital importance 
that a well-matured and comprehensive plan for 
improvement should be put into operation with 
as little delay as possible. The cotton product 
of the region subject to the devastating floods is 
a source of wealth to the nation and of great im- 
portance to keeping the balances of trade in our 
favor. 

An Indirect Method of Refunding- the 
Cotton Tax. 

It may not be inopportune to mention that this 
Government has imposed and collected some 
seventy millions of dollars by a tax on cotton, 
in the production of which the population of the 
Lower Mississippi is largely engaged, and it does 
not seem inequitable to return a portion of this 
tax to those who contributed it, particularly as 
such an action will al60 result in an important 
gain to the country at large, and especially so to 
the great and rich States of the Northwest and the 
Mississippi Valley. 

CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 



PART III. 



Debate in the House. 

National Support of Harbor and River 
Improvements. 

Mr. Page, in the House, in presenting 
the bill, said : 

Congress has for the last eighty years made 
annual appropriations for the improvement of 
rivers and harbors. In 1802 Congress for the first 
time passed a river and harbor appropriation 
bill, which appropriated $30,000 for the improve- 
ment of the Delaware River. Since that time 
annual appropriations for these purposes have 
been made by Congress, varying in amount up 
from $30,000 in 1802' to $12,000,000 in 1881. In 1879 
Congress passed a law authorizing the President 
of the United States to select seven commission- 
ers, known as the Mississippi River Commission. 
These commissioners were to be selected, three 
from the Army Engineer Corps, one from the 
Coast and Geodetic Survey, and three from civil 
life. It was their duty, under this law, to make 
an examination of the Mississippi River, and re- 
port a plan for its improvement to the Congress 
of the United States. In the last Congress their 
report was adopted by this House and an appro- 
priation was made of some two million and odd 
thousand dollars for the whole river ; one mil- 
lion for the river below Cairo to the head of the 
passes. This was deemed insufficient by the 
Mississippi River Commission, and consequently 
they made no headway in the improvement of 
this great river, but deferred it till now, when 
they expect Con.crress to make appropriations 
more commensurate with this great improve- 
ment; an improvement that has attracted the 
attention not only of the people directly inter- 



156 



RIVER AND HARBOR APPROPRIATION. 



ested, living along tlie banks of the Mississippi Present House Deals Liberally with 
River, but of tbe people of the whole country. Southern Section. 



Mississippi Improvements Demanded 
by the Weeds of Commerce. 

I know of no enterprise that has been under- 
taken within the last quarter of a century that 
has attracted more attention than the improve- 
ment of this great water-way. Conventions have 
met at Saint Louis and Saint Joseph, and all 
o eer the country ; conventions, not of politicians, 
but of tbe representatives of the people, have 
met and have resolved that it was the duty of 
Congress to make these large appropriations in 
order that this great improvement might be car- 
ried on. Our committee was in session in consid- 
ering this bill for over four months. They lis- 
tened to all the delegations that were sent here, 
representative men from different localities, and 
all interested in this great improvement. We 
heard arguments adduced by the representatives 
of the conventions that assembled in Saint Louis 
in October last. "We listened to representations 
and arguments made by boards of trade and 
chambers of commerce, and by representatives 
from all over this country. The Mississippi River 
commission was heard at great length before our 
Committee, and it was unanimously resolved by 
the Committee on Commerce that liberal appro- 
priations should be made this year to carry out 
this improvement. We do not give, it is true, all 
that was asked for, but we give all that the com- 
mission ask for below Cairo to the head of the 
passes, to wit, $4,123,000. 

.First Appropriation Com mens urate 
with the Importance of tbe Improve- 
ment. 

I have made this statement to show that while 
this bill is large, it is the first river and harbor 
bill that has contained any appropriation com- 
mensurate with the importance of this great im- 
provement, or for carrying on this great improve- 
ment as contemplated by the Mississippi River 
Commission. In this connection I desire to say 
that this improvement has not only attracted the 
attention of the people of almost the entire coun- 
try but it was regarded as of so much importance 
that the President of the United States thought 
it incumbent upon him to send a special message 
to Congress calling attention to this great and 
needed improvement. 

Comparison with Harbor and River 
Appropriations of Previous Years. 

This bill appropriates $17,342,875 on an estimate 
In round numbers of $37,000,000. The river and 
harbor bill of 1881 appropriated $11,547,800, upon 
an estimate of $25,851,921. I take that as a com- 
parison, because it was discussed in this House 
and passed by a very large majority by this body 
and by the Senate. I therefore proposed to in- 
stitute a comparison between the bill now under 
consideration and the river and harbor bill of 
last year, which, as has been suggested, was not 
■put through the House under the gag rule, but 
was discu sed thoroughly on the floor of the 
House. As I have said, this bid on an estimate 
of $37,000,000, appropriated $17,342,000, and the 
river and harbor bill of last year on an estimate 
of $25,851,921 appropriated $11,547,800. 

The river and harbor bill of 1881 contained an 
appropriation of $2,772,000 only for the Mississippi 
and Missouri Rivers. The bill now under con- 
sideration contains an appropriation of $6,663,000 
for these two great rivers of the country, making 
an excess of .appropriation for those two rivers 
by this bill over that of 1881 of nearly $4,000,000. 

This bill appropriates $5,795,075 in excess of the 
bill of last year ; but from that amount should be 
deducted $3,864,000 given to the Mississippi and 
Missouri Rivers in excess of what was given last 
year, which leaves for the other works in the 
country $1,931,000 more appropriated by this bill 
■than by the bill of last year. * * * 



Mr. Chairman, this bill deals very liberally with 
the Southern section of the country. We believe 
this liberality is called for by the improved con- 
I dition of affairs in that section. During the war 
the Southern States received, of course, no ap- 
propriations ; since the war they have not re- 
ceived their fair share of the appropriations for 
rivers and harbors ; they have not received the 
proportion to which the commerce of thoselocal- 
ities is justly entitled. We have sought in this 
bill to deal absolutely fairly in the distribution of 
this money, giving a proper amount to the vari- 
ous rivers and harbors that needed it. We have 
given thin year about 45 per cent, of the estimate ; 
that is all. 

$8,705,000 Appropriated for the Im- 
provement of the Mississippi and Its 
Tributaries. 

Mr. Horr, of Michigan, in a speech in 
the House on June 15, said: 

I wish to say now that in order to arrive at a 
fair understanding of this bill I have divided it 
into five sections". I only regret that I have not 
a map here so that I could illustrate to the House 
the exact manner in which this money is dis- 
tributed over the country. 

Before I give you the five divisions, let me state 
that this bill appropriates $5,678,000 for the main 
trunk of the Mississippi River, for the principal 
stream ; and $990,000 for the main stream of the 
Missouri River. 

I have taken the entire Mississippi Valley as 
one division. You understand what I mean. The 
Mississippi River and every stream that runs 
into it, or that runs into a stream which runs 
into it, constitutes the great water shed of what 
is called the Mississippi Valley. This bill con- 
tains $8,705,000 for the Mississippi River and its 
tributaries, the Mississippi Valley proper— over 
one-half of the amount appropriated by the bill. 
And if my strength permits, before I get through 
I desire to defend that appropriation of $8,705,000 
as best I can against the complaints of the press 
and of people who, in my judgment, have never 
given the subject careful study. * * * 

Appropriation Determined by Amount 
of Tonnage of River. 

Your committee finally came to the conclusion, 
in view of all these facts, that the only rule to 
determine the amount of an appropriation was 
the tonnage that floats through the harbor in 
and out and over the river that you improve. We 
believe that to be the fairest test as to the im- 
portance of an improvement, and I cannot for 
my life now see why it is not. Of course the 
amount to be appropriated will depend largely 
upon the character of the work. The amount of 
commerce should settle the question as to begin- 
ning the improvement, and the amount to be 
given should be determined by the cost of the im- 
provement. 

I now come to the feature in this bill which 
gives the most trouble, and occasions the most 
comment throughout the country, and that is the 
great question of improving the Mississippi 
River and its tributaries. 



Vast Tonnage of the Mississippi River 
—Cheap Transportation. 

Again, what is this valley which we propos e 
to improve and help out of its trouble ? Until I 
prepared this bill I had no conception of the 
commerce of this country. I know you will 
bear with me a moment while I illustrate a few 
things pertaining to this enormous valley. In 
the first place it contains 14,000 mik'fc of rrrer— 
navigable rivers — whieh are no^ l«[ y Im- 
proved by the government. They l v,tKnvt it 



KIVEPw AND IIARIJOR APPROPUIATION. 



157 



border upon eighteen States and two Territo- 

The population of tbis valley to-day is 30,000,- 
000. As you look into the future you can see 
that it will be able to support G00,000,000 of in- 
habitants. Now, is not the experiment worth 
trying 1 I admit that it is an experiment ; I ad- 
mit that we may fail ; but is it not worth trying l 
I find that tbore were dug and handlvd in the 
United States last year 66,000,000 tons of coal. 
Can you think of how much that is ? If you 
were to rim a railroad twice around the world 
this coal loaded upon cars would fill every car 
and make a solid train, on a double track, clear 
around the globe. We had iu the United States 
last year 250,000,000 tons of commerce. If you 
take the 102,000 miles of railroads in the United 
States, double track them all, load upon cars 
the commerce which we moved last year in this 
country, there would be a solid train over every 
Line and every branch and side-track, going and 
coming, filling both tracks. You could not 
cross these tracks on a dirt road in the whole 
United States. These statements seem fabulous, 
but the immense tonnage of this land is more 
than fabulous. To provide for the transporta- 
tion, the cheap transportation, of such a com- 
merce requires that men should rise above the 
level of common humdrum thought, and if pos- 
sible reach the heights of true philosophy, of 
real statesmanship. 

It is to prepare for moving products of this 
kind that this bill is drawn. Iflndthat the coal- 
fields of Pennsylvania are only 13,000 square 
miles ; yet Pennsylvania alone furnished last 
year out of those 66,000,000 tons of coal 42,000,ooo. 
Now take the State of Illinois, which border-* 
upon this great national highway. What could 
Illinois do ? Illinois has 36,000 square miles of 
coal-fields ; and in many places her coal is piled 
up so that it aggregates 100 feet in thickness. 
Now, take for a moment the other products of 
Illinois. She raised last year 325,000,000 bushels of 
corn, 51,000,000 bushels of wheat, 63,000,000 bu-h- 
els of oats, 1,250,000 of barley, 3,000,000 bushels of 
rye, 13,000,000 bushels of p tatoes. Illinois had 
1,000.000 car-loads of products from those six or 
seven items alone last year, and she is only one 
State out of eighteen that border on this great 
national highway that goes to make up this 
great valley of the Mississippi. 

Then take the iron of Alabama and Tennessee 
and Missouri and Kentucky, and the coal of 
every one of those States. Why, sir, the coal- 
fields of this valley alone aggregate 170,000 
square miles. Take the timber from Kentucky. 
Mississippi, and that entire valley; the zinc of 
Tennessee and Missouri ; the cotton and sugar 
from all these States; take all theva:ied pro- 
ducts; and what we seek to do by this bill is 
simply to improve this great water-way, so as 
to secure cheap transportation for the working 
millions now in this great valley an£ for the 
increasing millions that are to come after us, 
cheap transportation for the food and the fuel 
which God has spread witli such profusion all 
over this continent. ***** 
A Grand Enterprise, A Mammoth un- 
dertaking', characteristic of the An- 
glo-Saxon race— Xo such word as Fail. 
A few more words, Mr. Chairman, and I am 
done. In attempting to rule such a vast and 
changing stream, our committee well under- 
stood that we entered upon no light task— that 
the work before us is n<> child's play. Some of 
our members entertain strong fears that the 
task is beyond the powers of man— that we enter 
upon a work that mortal skill and ingcnuiry can- 
not perform. Still we were unanimous in our 
decision that we would make the attempt. In- 
dole j this we took counsel of our hopes instead 
of our fears. And now I would ask the members 
of this Congress to concurin our conclusion Let 
us not shrink from this work because oflt's magni- 
tude. We should not forget that we live in an age 
of great achievements. Grand enterprises, mam- 
moth undertakings, are exactly fitted to the 
mental peculiarities of our Anglo-Saxon race. 



Courage to grapple with the immense is one of 
the distinguishing features of the inhabitants of 
this Republic. Feebleness, timidity, faint- 
heartedness, do not become our day and gen- 
eration. To dare and to do a e the crowning 
glories of our American civilization. The ne- 
cessities of the hour call for men who have 
brains to plan, who have faith in themselves, 
who have haudsto execute. Fear of failure has 
no place iu the great achievements of to-day. 
Like Cardinal Richelieu, we should know no 
such word as fail. 

Statistics in relation to our Lake and 
Mississippi and Ohio River systems. 

Hon. Amos Townsend, of Ohio, in a 
speech on the same subject said : 

Few gentlemen on this floor whose attention 
has not been particularly directed to this sub- 
ject can understand or proper. j r appreciate the 
magnitude of the tonnage moved and the water 
craft employed upon our inland lakes and rivers, 
aud for the information of the House I will re- 
fer to some valuable statistics which I have 
procured from ollicial sources, and for which I 
am greatly indebted to Hon. Charles W. Seaton, 
tho Superintendent of the Census Bureau. 
They refer to the northwestern lakes and the 
Ohio and Mississippi River systems, and ex- 
hibit in comparison the number of vessels em- 
ployed, tonnage, value, capital invested, andpas- 
senger and freight traffic of the lakes and 
rivers. 





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158 



RIVER AND HARBOR APPROPRIATION. 



It is a somewhat singular coincidence that 
the value of steamers plying on the lakes is very 
nearly equal to the whole river interests, Again: 
the Ohio River and the Lower Mississippi River 
interests apppoximate nearly the same, Avnile 
the capital invested is also nearly equal iu both 
cases. The capital invested in steam crafts on 
the Upper Mississippi, Lower Mississippi, and 
the Ohio River is in each instance close to $6.- 
000,000. Mr. Seaton has also furnished me with 
a statement of the approximate number, ton- 
nage, and value of the craft, s il-barges, and 
flats on the northern lakes and western rivers. 

Statement of the approximate number, tonnage 
and value of the craft on the Northern Lakes 
and Western rivers. 



Region. 



Total Northern 
Lakes 

Total river inter- 



No. of 
craft. 



,709 



Tonnage 



553,362.45 
1,581,742.71 



Value. 



$21,855,808 
16,909,265 



Mr. Van Horn, of Wisconsin, in ad- 
vocating the bill in the House, said : 
Vast Importance of the Improvement 
to the Agricultural and Other Inter- 
ests of the West. 

It is not my i urpose to burden the House with 
statistics, but as there should be well-grounded 
reasons of policy in all expenditures of public 
money, it maybe proper to state that the valley 
draiued by the Missouri is in extent and fertility 
the most important of the continent, and al- 
though new in development it now comprises 
nearly five millions of people, and increasing 
faster than ever in its brief history. Your cen- 
sus returns show that it grows nearly one-third 
of the grain product of the United Stat, s, its ag- 
gregate crop being over 600,000,000 bushels. It 
Lad 12,365,300 farm animals, and contributed to 
the internal revenues $10,000,000. Figures such 
as these are eloquent in argument for the policy 
of this expenditure, and the nearest portion of 
this vast productive area is a thousand miles 
from present seaboard markets by rail. This 
crop last year paid an average of 35 cents a 
bushel by rail to the seaboard. An experi- 
mental season of shipments by an average river 
sent it to sea at 15 cents, a difference in favor of 
the river transport of 115 per cent. If the Gov- 
ernment can find justification in giving away 
in lands and bonds more than $500,000,000 to build 
railroads to carry these products to market at 
35 to 50 ( ents, and return the products of indus- 
try to the farms at corresponding rates, how can 
ft refuse to aid by the expenditure $50,000,000 in 
all to insure the permanence of the 15 cent rate 1 
And the western rivers can be permanently im- 

E roved, all of them, for less than that sum, and 
l this I include the three great rivers and their 
important tributaries. 

The House Passes the Bill— Yeas and 
IVays. 

Yeas— Messrs. Atkins, Bayne, Blnnchard, Bland< 
Bliss, BlounU Bowman, Buck, Julius C. Burrows, 
■Calkins, Candler, Carpenter, Caswell, Chace, 
Clardy, J. B. Clarke, Cook, Crnpo. Cravens, Culberson, 
Culleh, Curtin, Darrall, Davidson, Geo. R. Davis, 
Xiowndes H. Davis, Dawes, DeMutte, Dezend >rf", 
jubrell, Dvnn, Dunnell, Ellis, Sewell S. Farwell, 
Forney, Fulkerson, George, Gibson, Guenther, 
Gunter, Harmer, B. W. Harris, H. 8. Harris, 
Hazeltine, Hatch, Hawk, Haz lton. Heuburn, 
He bert, Herndon, G. W. Hewitt, Hill, Hiscock, 
Hoge, Horr, Houtk, House, H. L. Humphrey, 
Geo. W. Jones. J. K. Jones, Jorgensen. Kclley, 
Keiati, King, Lewis, Lord, Lynch. Maekey, ilan- 
n ng, Martin, McOlure, McCoid, McLane, Money, 



Mooiv, Norrross. Oates, O'Neill, Orth, Pacheco, 
Page, Parker, Paul, Paysn .. Pierce, Pettibone, 
Pound, Reanna, Theron M. Ri-e, W.W. Rice, Rich 
D. P. RichMrdsoa, Ritchie, Robertson, Ross, Shelly 
D. C. Smith. Spaulding, Speer, Spoouer, Stone, 
Strait. Tillman, Town -end, Amos, Upson, Valen- 
tine, Vance, Wait, Washburn, We hi er, Wellborn, 
West, White, C. G. Williams, Thomas Williams, 
G.D. Wise, M. Wise.-1:0. 

Nays— Messrs. Aldrich, Anderson, Bri^s, Bueh- 
auan, J. W. Caldwell, J. M. Cimpbeli, Cobb, Con- 
verse, Wm. R. Cox, Deering, Deuster, Dingley, 
Dwight, GodshalU, Hail, Hnrd--nburgh, HasKeli, 
A. S.Hewitt, Holman, Hutchins, J ad win, Joyce, 
Kasson, Ketcham, McKunz'ui, Miles, Morrison, 
Morse, Moulton, Mutchler, iNeale, Petle, Yrescott. 
Ryan, Scales, Skinner, A.H.Smith. Steete,H. G, 
Turner, Oscar Turner, Tyler, T. Updesrraff, 
Wadsworth, Walker, Warner, Whitthorne, Wilson. 
—47. 

So the bill was passed by the House. 

PART IV. 
The Bill in the Senate. 

Mr. Morrill's Amendment providing 
only one half of the aggregate amount 
Appropriated should be expended 
during fiscal year at the discretion of 
the President. 

The bill was amended in the Senate 
Committee of Commerce and the Senate 
so as to reach the sum of $20,247,575. 
Pending — 

Mr. Morrill, July 12, moved to add 
to it the following : 

Provided, That only one-half of the 
aggregate amount appropriated in this 
act shall be expended during the year 
ending June 30, 1883, and the whole or any 
part of the different items herein men- 
tioned may be expended at the discrea- 
tion of the President, but not exceeding 
one-half of the aforesaid aggregate 
amount. 

Which was disagreed to— yeas 16, 
nays 45 : 

Yeas— Messrs. Blair, Cameron of Pennsylva. 
nia, Chilcott, Davis of Illinois, Frye, Hale, Haw 
lev, Hill of Colorado, Lapham, Mitchell. Mor 
nil, Piatt, Plumb, Rollins, Saunders, Van Wyck— 
16. 

Nays — Messrs. Aldrich, Allison, Anthony, 
Bayard, Beck, Brown, Butler, Call, Camden, 
Cameron of Wisconsin, Cockrell, Coke, Conger, 
Davis of West Virginia, Dawes, Farley, Ferry, 
George, Grover, Hampton, Harris, Ingalls, Jack- 
son, Johnson, Jonas, Jones of Florida, Jones of 
Nevada, Lamar, McDill. McMillan, Maxey, Mil- 
ler of California, Miller of New York, Pendleton, 
Pugh,Ransom, Saulsbury, Sawyer Sherman, Sla- 
ter, Yance, Test, Walker, Williams, Windom — 45. 

The bill was then passed— -yeas 38, 
nays 23 : 

Yeas — Messrs. Aldrich, Allison, Anthony, 
Brown, Camden, Cameron of Wisconsin, Cock- 
rell, Coke, Conger, Davis of West Virginia, 
Dawes, Farley, Ferry, Geerge, Grover, Hamp- 
ton, Hoar, Johnston, Jonas, Jones of Florida, 
Jones of Nevada, Lamar, McDill, McMillan, 
Maxey, Miller of California, Miller of New York, 
Pugh. Ransom. Saunders. Sawyer, Sherman, Sla- 
ter, Vance. Vest, Walker, Williams, Windom— 38. 

Nays— Messrs. Bayard. Beck, Blair, Call, Cam- 
eron of Pennsylvania, Davis of Illinois, Frye, 
Hale, Harris, Harrison, Hawley, Hill of Colo- 



RIVER AND HARBOR APPROPRIATION. 



159 



rado, Jackson, Laphain. Logan. Mitchell. Mor- 
rill, Pendleton, Piatt, Plumb. Rollins, Saulsbury, 
Van Wyck— 23. 



PART V. 

The two Houses pass the 
Bill. 

Report of the Committee of Conference 
—Proceedings in the two Houses. 

On July 15, in the House, the Senate 
amendments were non-concurred in, 
and the bill went to a committee of 
conference. 

On July 25, in both Houses, the com- 
mittee of conference submitted its re- 
port. . . 

The report reduces the appropriation 
for the survey of the Chesapeake and 
Delaware Canal from $20,000 to $10,000, 
and adds a new item, being a provision 
for a survey between City Island and 
New Rochelle Harbor, N. Y. The ap- 
propriation to the Potomac River at 
Washington is reduced from $500,000 to 
$400,000, that for the survey of the Hen- 
nepin Canal from $100,000 to $30,000, 
and a proviso added "that nothing 
herein contained shall be construed to 
commit the Government to proceed 
with the said improvement," and that 
for the Mississppi River below Cairo 
from$ 5,000,000 to $4,123,000, as fixed in 
the House bill. The changes made redu- 
ces the aggregate of the bill to $18,743,- 
875. The bill as passed by the House ap- 
propriated $17,367,875. As passed by the 
Senate, it appropriated $20,147,575. 
Under the report, the Mississippi River 
has appropriated for its improvement 
from Cairo to the passes $4,123,000. It 
has $600,000 additional from Cairo to 
Illinois River, including Alton Harbor ; 
$200,000 additional from the Illinois 
River to the Des Moines Rapids ; $250,- 
000 additional from the Des Moines 
Rapids to the Tails of St. Anthony; 
$10,000 above the Falls of St. Anthony, 
and $300,000 for the reservoirs. 

In the Senate the report was adopted 
without a division. 

In the House, ou July 25, the report 
of the committee was rejected; yeas 
82, nays, 97; not voting? 

Whereupon Mr. Stiait moved to re- 
consider this vote, and Mr. Cox, of New 
York, moved to lay that motion on the 
table. 

Pending which the House adjourned. 

On July 26, in the House ; to recon- 
sider was agreed to— yeas, 116 ; nays, 77. 
, The report of the conference commit- 
tee was then agreed to— yeas, 112; 
nays, 82. 

Yeas— Messrs. W. Aldrich, Barbour, Bayne, 
Bisbee, Blanchard, Bliss, J. H. Brewer, Buck, 
Buckner, Butterworth, Calkins, Candler, Car- 



penter, Caswell, Chace, Chapman, Covington, 
Cravens,Culberson, CulleQ, Darrall, G. R. Davis, 
Deering, De Mott, Dowd, Dunn, Bids, Errett, 
Evins, S. S. Farwell, Ford, Forney, Fulkerson, 
Garrison. George, Gibson, Gu titer, Harmer, 
B. W. Harrison, I. S. Haseltine, G. C. Hazelton, 
Henderson, Hepburn, Herndon, J. Hill. Hob- 
litzell, Hoge, Horn, Hubbell, G. W. Jones, F. 
K. Jones, Kelley. Kenna, King, Latham, Lewis, 
Lord, Lyncb, E. L. Martin, McClure, McCoid, 
McLane, Moore. Muldrow, Neal, Oales, O'Neill, 
Paeheco, Page, Parker, Payson, Peirce, Petti- 
bone, Pound, Reagan, W. W. Rice, Ricb, 
D. P. Richardson, E. W. Robertson, G. M. 
Robeson, Roseerans, Ross, W. A. Russell, Shal- 
lenberger, Slierwin, O. R. Singleton, Smalls, 

D. C. Sm tb, J. H. Sinitb, Speer, Spooner, 
Stephens, E. W. Stone, Strait, Talbott, A. Town- 
send, Upson, Urner, Valentine, Vance, Van 
Aernam, Van Horn, Wait, Ward, Wasliburn, 
Webber, Welborn, J. D. White, C. G. Williams, 
T. Williams, Willits, G. D, Wise— 111 

Nays— Messrs. Anderson, Armfleld, Ather- 
ton, Belmont, Berry. Blout, Briggs, Browne, 
Buchanan. J. C. Burrows, J. W. Caldwell, 
Campbell, Carlisle, Cassidy, J. C. Clements, 
Colerick. S. S. Cox, Cutts, Dawes, Dingley, 
Dwigbt, Ermentrout, Godshalk, N. J. Ham- 
mond, Hardenbergh, Hardy, Haskell, Hatch, 
A. S. Hewitt, Hiscock, Holman, House, 
Hutchins, Jacobs, Jadwin, Kasson, Knott. Lee- 
dom. Le Fevre, Matson, McKenzie, McKinley, 
McMillin, S. H. Miller, Mills, Morey, Morrison, 
Morse, Moulton, Murcb, Mutchler, Norcross, 
Peelle, Prescott, Ray, Reed, J. B. Rice, Ritchie, 
G. D. Robinson, J. S. Robinson, TF. E. Rob- 
inson, A. H. Smith, G. W. Steele, Stockslager, 

E. B. Taylor, H. G. Turner, O. Turner, Tyler, 
J. T. Updegraff, T. Updegraff, Von Voorhis, 
Wadsworth, Walker, R. Warner, West, Whitt- 
horne, Willis— 82. 



PART VI. 

President Arthur 
the Bill. 



Vetoes 



The President returns the Bill to the 
House with his Objections to its pas- 
sagpe. 

Mr. McMILLAN. Now I move to 
take up the river and harbor bill, which 
has been returned, with the message of 
the President. 

The motion was agreed to. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The 
bill is before the Senate, and the mes- 
sage of the President will be read. 

The message was read as follows. 
To tlie House of Representatives: 

Having watched with much interest the pro- 
gress of House bill No. 6242, entitled "An act 
making appropriation for the construction, re- 
pair, and preservation of certain works on rivers 
and harbors, and for other purposes," and hav- 
ing since it was received carefully examined it, 
after mature consideration I am constrained to 
return it herewith to the House of Representa- 
tives, in wbich it originated, without my signa- 
ture, and with my objections to its passage. 

Many of the appropriations in rhe bill are 
clearly for the general welfare and most benefi- 
cent in their character, two of the objects for 
which provision is made were by me considered 
so important that I felt it my duty to direct to 
them the attention of Congress. In my annual 
message in December last I ur.^ed the vital im- 
portance of legislation for the reclamation of 



160 



RIVER AND HARBOR APPROPRIATION. 



the marshes and for the establishment of the 
harbor lines along the Potomac front. In April 
last by special message I recommended an ap- 
propriation for the improvement of the Missi^- 
feippi River. It is not necessary that I say that 
when my signature would make the bill appro- 
priating for these and other valuable national 
objects a law, it is with great reluctance and 
only under a sense of duty that I withhold it. 

My principal objection to the bill is that it con- 
tains appropriations for purposes not for the 
common defense or general welfare, and which 
do not promote commerce among the States. 
These provisions, on the contr <ry, are entirely 
for the benefit of the particular localities in 
which it is proposed to make the improvements. 
I regard such appropriation of the publio money 
as beyond the powers given by the Constitution 
to Congress and the President. 

I feel the more bound to withhold my signa- 
ture from the bill because of the peculiar evils 
which manifestly result from this infraction of 
the Constitution. Appropriations of this nature, 
to be devoted purely to local objects, tend to an 
increase in number and amount. As the citi- 
zens of one State find that money, to raise 
which they in common with the whole country 
are taxed, is to be expended for local improve- 
ments in another State, they demand similar 
benefits for tkemselves, and it is not unnatural 
that they should seek to indemnify themselves 
for such use of the public funds by securing ap- 
propriations for similar improvements in their 
own neighborhood. Thus as the bill becomes 
more objectionable, it secures moro support. 
This result is invariable and necessarily follows 
a neglect to observe the constitutional limita- 
tions imposed upon the law-making power. 

The appropriations for river and harbor im- 

frovements have, under the influences to which 
have alluded, increased year by year out of pro- 
portion to the progress of the country, great as 
that has been. In 1870 the aggregate appropri- 
ation was $3,975,900; in 1875, $6,648,517.50; in 1886, 
$8,976,500; and in 1881, $11,451,000, while by the 
present act there is appropriated $18,743,875. 

While feeling every disposition to leave to the 
Legislature the responsibility of determining 
what amount should be appropriated for the 
purposes of the bill, so long as the appropria- 
tions are confined to objects indicated by the 
grant of power, I cannot escape the conclusion 
that, as a part of the law-making power of the 
Government, the duty devolves upon me to 
withhold my signature from a bill containing 
appropriations which in my opinion greatly ex- 
ceed in amount the needs of the country for the 
present fiscal year. It being the usage to pro- 
vide money for these purposes by annual ap- 
propriation bills, the President is in effect di- 
rected to expend so large an amount of money 
within so brief a period that the expenditure can- 
not be made economically and advantageously. 

The extravagant expenditure of public money 
is an evil not to be measured by the value of 
that money to the people who are taxed for it. 
They sustain a greater injury in the demoraliz- 
ing effect produced upon those who are in- 
trusted with official duty through all the ram- 
ifications of Government. 

These objections could be removed and every 
constitutional purpose readily attained, should 
Congress enact that one-half only of the aggre- 
gate amount provided for in the bill be appro- 
priated for expenditure during the fiscal year, 
and that the sum so appropriated be expended 
only for such objects named in the bill as the 
Secretary of War, under the direc ion of the 
President, shall determine; provided that in 
no case shall the expenditure for any one pur- 
pose exceed the sum now designated by the bill 
for that purpose. 

I feel authorized to make this suggestion be- 
cause of the duty imposed upon the President 
by the Constitution " to recommend to the con- 
sideration of Congress such measures as he 
shall judge necessary and expedient;" and be- 
cause it is my earnest desire that the public 



works which are in progress shall suffer no in- 
.ury, Congress will also convene again in four 
months, when this whole subject will be open 
for their consideration. 

CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 
Executive Mansion, August l, 1882. 

The House Passes the Bill over the 
President's Objections. 

Mr. PAGE. I am unanimously instruct- 
ed by the Committee on Commerce to 
move to take up the river and harbor ap- 
propriation bill, with the President's veto 
message relating thereto, and to move 
that the bill do pass notwithstanding 
the President's objections. 

***** 

The SPEAKER. The question is, 
Will the House on reconsideration agree 
to pass the bill notwithstanding the ob- 
jections of the President? By para- 
graph 2, section 7, article 1 of the Con- 
stitution of the United States this vote 
must be taken by yeas and nays. 

The question was taken, and there 
were— yeas 122, nays 59, not voting 108 ; 
as follows : < 

YEAS 122.— Atkins, Barbour, Bayne, Bingham, 
Blackburn, Blanchard, Bliss, Bovvmau, Brewer, 
Buck, Buckner, Burrows, Julius C. ; Butterworth, 
Cabell, Calkins, Candler, Cannon, Carpenter, Cliap- 
man. Cements, Crapo, Cravens, Culberson, Culleu, 
Davis, George R. ; Dawes, DeMotte, Deuster, Dib- 
rett, Dunn, Dunnell, Ellis, Errett, Evins, Far well, 
Sewell S., Ford, Forney, Fulkerson, Garrison, 
George, Gibson, Gueniher, Gun'.er , Hammond, 
John; Harmer, Harris. Benjamin VV, ; Harris, Henry 
S.; Haseltine.ffafcA, Hazelton,Henders«n,Hepburn, 
Herndon, Hoblitzell, Hoge, Horr, House, Hubbell, 
Jones, George W.; Jones, James K; Kenna, King, 
Latham, Lewis, Lord, Lynch, Mackey, Manning, 
McClure, McCoid, McLane, McMUlin, Mills, Oates, 
O'Neill, Page, Parker, Payson, Peirce, Phelps, 
Pound, Reagan, Rice, John B. Rice, Theron M.; 
Rice, William W.; Rich, Richardson, D. P. ; Ritchie, 
Robertson, Robeson, Rosecrans, Ross, Sballenberger, 
Sherwin, Simonton, Singleton, Otho R.; Smalls, 
Spaulding, Speer; Spooner, Stephens, Stone, Strait, 
Talbott, Taylor, Townsend, Amos, Tucker, Upson, 
Urner, Vance Van Aernam, Van Horn, Wait, Ward, 
Washburn, Webber, Wellborn, White, Williams, 
Charles G.; Williams, Thomas; Wilson, Wise, 
George D. 

NAYS 59.— Anderson, Belmont, Blount, Briggs , 
Browne, Brumm, Buchanan, Caldwell, Campbell, 
Colerick, Converse, Cox, Samuel S.; Deering, Dingley, 
Ermentrout, Fisher, Godshalk, Hammond, N. J.; 
Hardy, Haskell, Hewitt, Ahram S.; Hill, Hiscock, 
Holman, Hutchins, Jacobs, Jadwin, Kasson, Ketch - 
a,va,Klotz,Leedom,Le Fevre, McKinley, Miller, Mutch- 
ler, Norcross, Peelie, Randall, Ray, Reed, Robinson, 
George D.; Robinson, James S. ; Robinson, William 
E.; Ryan, Scales, Smith, A. Herr; Springer, Stocksla- 
ger, Towushend, R. W.; Turner, Henry G.; Turner, 
Oscar; Tyler, Updegraff, J. T.i Updegraff, Thomas; 
Warner, Whitthorne, Willis, Willits, Young. 

NOT VOTING 108.— Aiken, Aldrich, Armfleld, Ath- 
erton, Barr, Beach, Bel ford, Beltzhoover, Berry, Bis- 
bee, Black,Bland, Bragg, Burrows, Joseph H.; Camp, 
Carlisle, Cassidy, Caswell, Chace, C'.ardy, Clark, Cobb, 
Cook, Cornell, Covington, Cox, William R.; Crowley, 
Curtin, Cutts, Darrell, Davidson, Davis, Lowndes H.; 
Dezendorf, Dowd, Dugro, Dwight, Farwell, 
Charles B.; Flower, Frost, Geddes, Grout, Hall, Har- 
denbergh, Heilman, Herbert, Hewitt, G. W.; Hooker, 
Houk, Hubbs, Humphrey, Jones, Phineas; Jor- 
gensen, Joyce, Kelley. Knott, Lacey, Ladd, Lind- 
sey. Lowe, Marsh, Martin, Mason, Matson, McCook, 
McKenzie, Miles, Money, Moore, Morey, Morrison, 
Morse, Mosgrove, Moulton, Muldrow, Murch, Neal, No- 
lan, Orth, Pacheco, Paul, Pettibone, Phister, Pres- 
cott, Ranney, Richardson, John S.; Russell, Scovdle t 



CHINESE QUESTION. 



101 



Shackelford, Shultz, Sing'eton, James W.; Skinner, 
Scranton, Smith. Dietric'a C; Smiih, J. Hyatt; 
Sparks, Steele. Thomas, Thompson., P. B.; Thompson, 
William G.; Valentine, Van Voorhis, Wadsworth, 
Walker, Watson, West. Wise, Morgan R.; Wood, 
Benjamin, Wood, Walter A. 

So (two-thirds voting in favor there- 
of) the bill was passed. 

The Senate passes the Bill over the 
President's Objections. 

Mr. HALE. I call for the yeas and 
nays. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Nec- 
essarily the question will have to be by 
yeas and nays. The question is, Shall 
the bill pass, the objection of: the Presi- 
dent to the contrary notwithstanding? 
Each Senator as his name if. called if he 
is in favor of the passage of the bill not- 
withstanding the objection of the Pres- 
ident will vote "yea." 

The Principal Legislative Clerk pro- 
ceeded to call the roll. 

***** 

The roll-call having been concluded, 



the result was announced — yeas 41, nays 
16 ; as follows : 

Yeas— Aldrich, Allison, Anthony, Broxcn, 
Butler, Call, Camden, Cameron of Wisconsin, 
Cockrell, Coke, Conger, Davis of West Virginia, 
Dawes, Farley, Ferry, George. Gorman, Grover, 
Hampton, Hoar, Jackson, Jonas, Jones of Flori- 
da, Jones of NevadajKellogg, McDill, McMillan, 
Maxey, Miller of California Miller of New York, 
Pugh, Ransom, Saunders, Sawyer. Sherman, 
Slater, Vest, Voorhees, Walker, Williams, Win- 
dom— 41. 

Nays — Bayard, Blair. Cameron of Pennsyl- 
vania, Davis of Illinois, Frye, Hale, Harrison, 
Hawley, Ingalls, Logan, Morrill, Pendleton, 
Piatt, Rollins, Saulsbury, Van Wyck— 16. 

Absent— Beck, Chilcott. Edmunds, Fair, Gar 
land, Groome. Harris, H 11 of Colorado, Hill of 
Georgia, Johnston, Lamar, J-apliam, McPherson, 
Malione, Mitchell, Morgan. Plumb, Seivell, Vance 
—19. 

The PRESIDENT pro tempore. On 
the question whether the bill shall pass, 
the President's objections to the con- 
trary notwithstanding, the question is 
determined in the affirmative; forty-one 
Senators voting in the affirmative and 
sixteen in the negative. So the bill is 
passed. 



CHAPTER IX 



The Chinese Question. 



PART I. 

Chinese Question in Cali- 
fornia. 

Democrats in California Legislature 
Proposed in 1852 to legalize Contracts 
for Chinese Labor— The Peachy bill— 
They vote against Taxing Chinamen— 
In 1S56 30,000 Chinamen in California 
— Report in favor of Chinamen — Dem- 
ocrats defeat efforts in 1856 to exclude 
Chinamen — First Republican Govern- 
or of California proposes to prohibit 
Chinese Immigration—Democratic Su- 
preme Court decide in favor of Chi- 
nese — Democrats voted against re- 
stricting the employment of China- 
men. 

In March, 1852, Mr. Peachy, a Demo- 
cratic member of the California Legisla- 
ture (also Democratic) introduced a bill 
to legalize contracts for labor made in 
China, which provided that such con- 
tracts should be good for five years, 



and might be made assignable. Any 
laborer brought under contract, who 
should attempt to leave his master, 
could be arrested and then compelled to 
work out his term of service. This 
measure, known as the Peachy bill, 
passed the Lower House. It was sup- 
ported by the author, Mr. Peachy, and 
by Mr. Roach and Mr. Hagar— all dis- 
tinguished Democrats. 

Shortly after this a bill was intro- 
duced into the California Legislature 
taxing Chinamen. This the Democratic 
majority refused to pass. 

Mr. Hagar also introduced the follow- 
ing resolution: 

Whereas. California is nearer China than any 
other State, and a valuable commerce has beeu 
opened up : 

Resolved, That a Commission be appointed to 
go to China. 

An amendment to substitute South 
America was defeated, and the Hagar 
resolution passed by 16 to 3. 

In 1852 a Whig member of the Cali- 
fornia Legislature offered a bill known 
as the Miner's tax, imposing a head-tax 
on all aliens working mining claims. It 



162 



CHINESE QUESTION. 



was incontinently laid on the table by 
the Democratic majority. At that time 
there were 25,000 Chinese in the State. 

In 1856 there were 30,000 Chinese in 
California. Labor demanded their ex- 
•clusion. The Democratic Legislature 
appointed a Democratic Committee of 
Inquiry which reported as follows: 

We say the tendency is not towards corrup- 
tion. We tliink they have done us no harm. 

In 1859, Mr. Weller, a Democratic 
Governor of California, declared that : 

We have cause to rejoice that this great na- 
tion (China) has been subjected to the law of 
nations. 

The cause of this rejoicing was the 
treaty with China, concluded a year 
previous by Mr. Reed, a Democratic 
Minister to China, ratified by a Demo- 
cratic Senate, and proclaimed by Bu- 
chanan, a Democratic President. 

In 1862, the first Republican Governor 
of California, in his first annual message, 
said : 

Asia, with her immense population, is send- 
ing her people here, and I will he glad to co- 
operate with any movement having for its ob- 
ject the prohibition of Chinese immigration. 

Mr. W. H. Sears, a leading Republi- 
can, offered a bill to protect white labor. 
A bill was substituted to levy a miner's 
tax, This measure a Democratic Su- 
preme Court subsequently declared un- 
constitutional. 
A bill to levy a tax on all Chinese in 
tye State was also defeated by Demo- 
ratic votes. 

The Burlingame treaty was nego- 
iated during Andrew Johnson's term, 
Qd a Democratic Governor of Califor- 
nia (Haight) welcomed the Embassy to 
lur shores and poured over it the unc- 
tions ointment of extravagant eulogy. 

In 1869, when labor in California was 
distressed, there was pending before the 
Democratic Legislature of the State a 
bill granting a large body of tide lands 
to a railroad corporation. To this an 
amendment was offered prohibiting the 
employment of Chinese by the benefi- 
ciary. Of the 42 votes recorded against 
that amendment 32 were cast by Demo- 
crats. 



PART II. 

Republican Record Against 
CMnese Immigration, «&c. 

Action in Congress on Cninese Ques- 
tion—Republicans Pass Act Prohibit- 
ing- Importation of Coolies— Sumner's 
Resolution to Suppress tbe Coolie 
Traffic — Resolutions by Republicans 
in and Action of Congress Against 



Cninese Immigration — President 
Grant Opposes Chinese Immigration. 

On the 4th of December, 1861, Thomas 
D. Elliott, of Massachusetts, a Republi- 
can Representative in Congress, offered 
a bill prohibiting the importation of 
coolies. It passed both Houses and was 
approved by Abraham Lincoln, Febru- 
ary 15, 1862. Mr. Aaron A. Sargent, 
then a Representative from California, 
spoke at length against Chinese immi- 
gration. 

On January 16, 1867, Mr. Charles Sum- 
ner secured the passage of a resolution 
asking other nations to join us in at- 
tempts to suppress the coolie traffic, and 
in May, 1868, he secured the passage of a 
bill extending the provisions of the El- 
liott act to all Oriental nations. 

In July, 1870, Senator Stewart, of Ne- 
vada, a Republican, secured the passage 
of a resolution calling for further infor- 
mation on the coolie traffic. 

In the House, the same year, Mr. Sar- 
geant offered a bill aimed at contracts 
for servile labor. 

In 1871, Mr. Cogltm, of California, of- 
fered a bill prohibiting the migration 
and employment of coolies, which was 
defeated by the action of Mr. Beck, of 
Kentucky, then a Democratic member 
of the House. 

In December, 1873, Mr. Page, of Cali- 
fornia, offered a bill prohibiting the im- 
portation of Chinese coolies and pros- 
titutes, which bill passed in 1875. 

In 1874, Mr. Page offered a resolution 
of inquiry, following the President's 
message on the subject. In that paper, 
delivered December 7, 1874, President 
Grant urged the passage of measures to 
suppress the importation of coolies. 
He said : 

I call tlie attention of Congress to a generally 
conceded fact, that the greater proportion of 
Chinese immigrants-* * * do not come volun- 
tarily, * * * hut come under contracts with 
head-men who own them almost absolutely. 
In a worse form does this apply to Chinese 
women. * * * If this evil practice can he 
legislated against, it will he my pleasure as well 
as duty to enforce any regulations to secure so 
desirable an end. 

In the following year President Grant 
again referred to the subject. 

On January 16, 1874, Mr. Page, of Cal- 
ifornia, offered a joint resolution abro- 
gating the Burlingame treaty. 

January 13, 1875, Senator Sargent of- 
fered a bill excluding the Chinese from 
naturalization ; and in April, 1876, of- 
fered a resolution providing for a modi- 
fication of the treaty with China. In 
1878, through the exertions of Senator 
Sargent, aided by others of the Pacific 
coast delegations in Congress, a resolu- 
tion was passed calling upon the Exec- 
utive to open negotiations at once for 
such modification of the Burlingame 
treaty as would exclude Chinese immi- 
grants. 



CHINESE QUESTION, 



1G3 



Mr. Sargent offered bills in 1876 to 
•check the immigration; Mr. Page also 
in 1874, to protect persons both against 
forcible restraint and involuntary ser- 
vitude. He also offered bills in 1878 for- 
bidding the carrying of Chinese pas- 
sengers on vessels paid for carrying the 
United States mails ; also levying a per 
capita tax on each passenger of an 
amount sufficient to be prohibitory. 

Representative Davis, of California, 
in 1878, offered a bill restricting the 
Chinese immigrant traffic, by not allow- 
ing more than ten persons on any one 
vessel. 

On July 7, 1876, Mr. Sargeant offered 
a resolution calling for the opening of 
negotiations for the modification of the 
Burliugame treaty, and Mr. Morton of- 
fered a substitute providing for sending 
a committee of inquiry to the Pacific 
coast. This was accepted by Mr. Sar- 
geant and adopted. 



PART III. 

Further Record of the two 
Parties on tlie Chinese 
Question. 

First Memorial of Califoraians tabled 
in Democratic House — Action of Cin- 
cinnati Con volition of 1876 on Chinese 
Question— Chinese Bill vetoed by Pres- 
ident Hayes — Chinese Commission un- 
der President Hayes— Treaties with 
China under President Hayes giving- 
power to United States to reg-nlate and 
limit Chinese Immigration, etc 

The first memorial to Congress from 
California was a resolution of its Legis- 
lature sent in May, 1874, asking that the 
State be granted the right to tax Chi- 
nese immigrants. Congress was strong- 
ly Democratic and paid no attention to 
it whatever. 

Other resolutions were offered from 
time to time by Mr. Johnson of CaL, 
Mr. Munger of Ohio, Mr. Piper, and Mr. 
JLynde of Wisconsin. 

The Republican National Convention 
which met in 1876 at Cincinnati, adopted 
a resolution, offered by Senator Jones 
of Nevada, as follows : 

It is tlie immediate duty of Congress fully to 
investigate the effect of the immigration and 
importation of Mongolians on the moral and 
material interests of the country. 

In 1879 Congress passed a bill prohib- 
iting the owner or master of any vessel 
from landing in the United States more 
than fifteen Chinese passengers on one 
voyage. This bill was vetoed by Pres- 
ident Hayes on the ground that Con- 
gress had no authority to abrogate at 



will a treaty entered into with a foreign 
nation; that the proposed law would 
contravene the sixth article of the Bur- 
lingame treaty, " by whose reciprocal 
engagements the citizens and subjects 
of the two governments, respectively 
visiting or residing in the country of 
the other, are secured the same privi- 
leges, immunities, or exemptions there 
enjoyed by the citizens or subjects of 
the most favored nations ; "that the de- 
nunciation of one part of the treaty 
necessarily liberates the other party 
from the whole treaty, and that, conse- 
quently, the immediate withdrawal of 
our treaty protection of the Chinese al- 
ready in this country would expose our 
citizens in China, merchants, mission- 
aries, and visitors, to the tender mercies 
of the people of China, with no treaty 
obligations to afford them any protec- 
tion whatever to person or property. 

In 1880 President Hayes appointed a 
commission, consisting of James B. An- 
gell of Michigan, John F. Swift of Cali- 
fornia, and Wm. H. Trescott of South 
Carolina, with full powers to negotiate 
a treaty with China in modification of 
the Burliugame treaty. On the 5th of 
November of that year the following 
treaty was agreed upon : 

Article I. Whenever in the opinion of the 
Government of the United States the coming of 
Chinese laborers to the United States, or their 
residence therein, affects or threatens to affect 
the interests of that country, or to endanger the 
good order of the said country, or of any locality 
within the territory thereof, the government of 
China agrees that the Government of the United 
States may regulate, limit, or suspend such 
coming or residence, hut may not absolutely 
prohibit it. The limitation or suspension shall 
be reasonable and shall apply only to Chinese 
who may go to the United States as laborers, 
other classes not being included in the limita- 
tions. Legislation taken in regard to Chinese 
laborers will be of such a character only as is 
necessary to enforce the regulation, limitation, 
or suspension of immigration, and immigrants 
shall not be subjected to personal maltreatment 
or abuse. 

Art. II. Chinese subjects, whether proceeding 
to the United State* as teachers, students, mer- 
chants, or from curiosity, together with their 
body and household servants, and Chinese la- 
borers who are now in the United States, shall 
be allowed to go and come of their own free 
will and accord, and shall be accorded all the 
rights, privileges, immunities, and exemptions 
wbich are accorded to the citizens and subjects 
of the most favored nation. 

Art. III. If Chinese laborers or Chinese of 
any other class, now either permanently or 
temporarily residing in the territory of the 
United States, meet with ill-treatment at the 
hands of any other persons, the Government of 
the Uuited States will exert all its powers to 
devise measures for their protection and to se- 
cure to them the same rights, privileges, immu- 
nities, and exemptions as may be enjoyed by 
the citizens or subjects of the most favored na- 
tion, and to which they are entitled by treaty. 

Art. IV. The high contracting Powers having 
agreed upon the foregoing articles, whenever 
the Government of the United States shall 
adopt legislative measure in accordance there- 
with, such measures will be communicated to 
the Government of China. If the measures as 
enacted are found to work hardship upon the 
subjects of China, the Chinese Minister at Wash- 



164 



CHINESE QUESTION. 



ington may bring the matter to the notice of 
the Secretary of State of the United States, who 
will consider the subject with him, and the Chi- 
nese Foreign Office may also bring the ma ter 
to the notice of the United States" Minister at 
Peking and consider the subject with hhn. 
to the end th«t mutual and unqualified benefit 
may result. 

In faith whereof the respective Plenipoten- 
tiaries have signed and sealed the foregoing, at 
Peking, in English and Chinese, being three 
originals of each text of even tenor and date, 
the modifications of which shall be exchanged 
at F eking within one year from date of its exe- 
cution. 

Another treaty was agreed upon at 
the same time which prohibited the 
opium traffic between the two countries, 
regulated the tonnage dues and duties 
for imports on the basis of similar dues 
or duties imposed on the vessels and 
goods of other nations, and providing 
that controversies arising in China be- 
tween citizens of the United States and 
Chinese subjects should be tried by the 
proper official of the nationality of the 
defendant. 

These treaties were subsequently rat- 
ified by the two powers. 



PART IV. 

The Chinese Bill of 1882. 

On January 26, 1882, Mr. Miller of 
California, introduced into the Senate a 
bill from the Committee on Foreign Re- 
lations, entitled "A bill to execute cer- 
tain treaty stipulations relating to Chi- 
nese," which on March 9, after being 
amended, passed the Senate. Yeas 29, 
nays 15. 

Yeas— Messrs. Bayard. Beck, Call, Cameron 
of Wisconsin, Cockrell, Coke, Fair. Farley, Gar- 
land, George, Gorman, Hale, Harris, Hill of Col- 
orado, Jackson, Jonas, Jones of Nevada. Miller 
of California, Miller of New York, Morgan, 
Pugh, Ransom, Sawyer, Slater, Teller, Vance, 
Vest, Vowhees. Walker— 29. 

Nats— Messrs. Aldrich. Allison, Blair, Brown, 
Conger, Davis of Illinois, Dawes, Edmunds, 
Frye, Hoar, Ingalls, Lapham, McDill, McMillan, 
Morrill— 15. 

In the House, on March 23, this bill 
was passed— yeas 167, nays 66. 

YEAS.— Messrs. Aiken, Aldrich, W Armfie'd, At- 
kins, Bayne, Belford. Belmont, Berry, Bingham, 
Blackburn. Blanchard, Bliss, Blount, Brewer. Brumrn. 
Bud:ner, Burrows (Julius v.). Buuerwortii, Cabell, 
Caldwell, Calkin*, Campbell, Cannon, Cassidy, Cas- 
well, Chalmers, Chapman, Clark, Clements, Cobb, 
Converse, Cook, Cornell, Cox (Samuel S.), Cox (William 
B.), Covington. Cravens, Culberson, Curtin, Darrein, 
Davidson, Davis (George R.). Davis (Lowndes H.), 
DeMotte, Dcuster, Dezendorf, Dibble, Dibbr:ll,Doivd, 
Dugrow, Ermentrout, Errett, Farwell (Charles B.), 
Finleii, Flower, Ford, Forney, Falknson, Garrisnn, 
Geddes, George, Gibson, Guenth r, Gunter, Ham- 
mond (N. J.), Hardj, Harmer, Harris, (Henry S.), 
Hazelline, Hatch, Hazleton, Heilman, Herndon, Hewitt 
(Abram S.), Hill.Hiscock, Hoblitzell, Hoge, Holman, 
Horr, Houk, House, Hubbell, Hubbs, Hutehins, 



Jones, (George W.), Jones (Jas. K.). Jorgenserr, 
Kenna,Kim, Klotz, Knott, Ladd, Leedom, 
Lewis, Marsh, Martin, Matson, McClure, McCook, 
McKcnzie, McKinley, McLane, McMdlin, Miller',. 
Mills, Movey, Morey, Moulton, Murch, Mutchler r 
O'Neill, Pacheco, Pane, Paul, Payson. Peelle,. 
Phelps. Phister, Pound, Randall, Reagan, Rice Rich- 
ardson (JohnS.). Robertson, Robinson (Wm. E.), Rose- 
crans, Scrantoyi, Shallenber^er, Sherwin, Stmonton^ 
Singleton (Otho R.), Smith (A. Herr). Smith (Dietrich 
C), Smith (J. Hy.ut). Sparks. Spauldin^r, Spr.er, 
Springer, StocMager, Strait. Ta'bott, Thomfts, Thomp- 
son(P.B.), Tilman. Townsend, (Amos,) Townshend' 
(71. W.). Tucrt, Turner (Henry G.), Turner (0.) r 
Up'iegraff (J. T.). Upson, Valentine. Fance, Van Horn,. 
Warner, Washburn, Weber, Wellborn, Whitthorne, 
Williams (Thomas), Willis, Wi'son, Wise (Geo. D.),. 
Wise (Morgan /?.), Wood (Walter A.)— 167. 

NAYS.— Messrs. Anderson, Barr, Bragg, Briggs^. 
Browne, Buck, C imp, Candler, Carpenter, Chace, 
Oaoo, Cnllen, Dawes, Deeting, Dinglev, Dunnell,. 
Dwiebt, Farwell (SewellS.), Grout. Hall.Hammond,. 
(J.), Hardenlntrgh,H.arris (Benj.W.), Haskell, Hawk,. 
Hende r< =on, Hepburn, H oker, Humphrey, Jacobs, 
Jones (Phineas). Joyce. Kasson, Ketcham Lord, Mc- 
Coid, Morse, Norcross. Orth, Parker, Rann^v, Reed,. 
Rice (John B.). Rice (William W.), Rich, RiVnard- 
son (D. P.). Ritchie, Robinson (George D.), RusselL 
Ryan, Shultz. Skinner, Spooner. Stone. Taylor,. 
Thompson (Wm.G.), Tyler, Updegraff (Thomas),. 
Urner, Wadsworth, Wait, Walker, Ward, Watson, 
White, Williams-66. 



Provisions of Bill as Passed— Suspend* 
after ninety days' Chinese Emigration 
for 20 years— Prohibits State Courts 
from Admitting: Chinese to Citizen- 
ship—Words "Chinese Laborers '♦ to 
mean both Skilled and Unskilled La- 
borers, Ac. 

The first section of the bill as passed 
was as follows : 

Whereas in the opinion of the Government of 
the United States the coming of Chinese labor- 
ers to this country endangers the good order 
of certain localities within the territory 
thereof: Therefore, 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- 
resentatives of the United States of America m 
Congress assembled, That from and after the 
expiration of ninety days next after the pas- 
sage of this act. and until the expiration of" 
twenty years next after the passage of this act, 
the coming of Chinese laborers to the United 
States be, and the same is hereby, suspended; 
and during such supensiou it shall not be law- 
ful for any Chinese laborer to come, or, having 
so come after the expiration of said ninety 
days, to remain within, the United States. 

Sections 16 and 17 were as follows : 

Sec. 16. That hereafter no State court or court 
of the United States shall admit Chinese to citi- 
zenship ; and all laws in conflict with this act 
are hereby repealed . 

Sec. 17- That the words "Chinese laborers," - 
wherever used in this act, shall be construed to- 
mean both skilled and unskilled laborers and. 
Chinese employed in mining. 

The other sections relate to the proper 
execution of the provisions of the first 
section, and the imposition of penalties 
for its violation, one section providing 
for the registration of such Chinese as 
are entitled to enter, or remain in the 
United States, by the terms of the bill- 



CHIXSiE, -QUE STION. 



165 



PART V, 

President Arthur Vetoes tlie 
Bill. 

The President Objects to the Twenty 
Tears Limit as a Breach of our Na- 
tional Faith— Objects to the Require- 
ments of Registration and Passports 
as Undemocratic and Hostile to the 
Spirit of our Institutions— Objects that 
the Bill makes No Provision for Chi- 
nese Transit across United States. 

President Arthur vetoed the bill. In 
his message to Congress his principal 
objections to the bill were stated as fol- 
lows: 

The examination which I have made of the 
treaty, and of the declarations which its nego- 
tiators have left on record of the meaning of its 
language, leaves no doubt in my mind that 
neither contracting party in concluding the 
treaty of 1880 contemplated the passage of an 
act prohibiting immigration for twenty years, 
which is nearly a generation, or thought that 
such a period would bo a reasonable suspension 
or limitation, or intended to change the provi- 
sions of the Burlingame treaty to that extent. 
I regard this provision of the act as a breach of 
our national faith; and being unable to brine; 
myself in harmony with the Aiews of Concrress 
on this vital point, the honor of the country 
•constrains me to return the act with this objec- 
tion to its passage. 

I think it may be doubted whether provi- 
sions requiring personal registration and the 
tailing oat of passports which are not imposed 
upon natives can be required of Chinese. With- i 
out expressing an opinion on that point, I may I 
invite the attention of Congress to the fact that I 
the system of personal registration and pass- 
ports is undemocratic and hostile to the spirit I 
-of our institutions. I doubt the wisdom of put- 1 
tiug an entering wedge of this kind into our | 
laws. A nation like the United S ates. jealous \ 
■of the liberties of its citizens, may well hesitate 
before it incorporates into its polity a system | 
■which is fast disappearing iu Europe before the 
•progress of liberal ins itutions. 

* k * * 

My attention has ben called by the Chinese i 
■minister to the fact that the bill as it stands 
makt s no provision for the transit across the 
United States of ( hintse subjects now residing 
in foreign countries. I think that this polut 
may well claim the attention of Congress in leg- 
islating on this subject. 

A New Bill Embracing the President's 
Views Introduced and Passed. 

A new bill was immediately prepared 
and passed to meet the views of the 
President. It passed the House April 
17, 1882— yeas 202, nays 37. 

YEAS.— Messrs. Aiken, Aldrich, Anderson, Arm- 
. field, Atkins, Bay no, Beach, Belford, Berry, Bing- 
ham, Blackburn, Blanchard, Bland, Blount, Buchan- 
an, Buckner, Burrows, Julius C. ; Burrows, Joseph 
H.; Butterworth, Cabell, Caldwell, Calkins, Cannp, 
Campbell, Cannon, Carlisle, Cassidy, Caswell, Chaee, 
Chalrrers, Chapman, Ciardy, Clark, Cements x Cobb, 
Colerick, Converse, Cook, Cox, intmuel S.; Covington, 
Cravens, Culberson, Cullen, Curtin, Darrell, Davidson, 
Davis, George R. ; Davis, Lcnmdes H.; DeMotte, 
Deuster, Dezendorf, Dibrell. Dibble, Dowel, Dunn ell, 
Ermtntrout, Errett, Evins, Farwell, Charles B.; Fin- 
<Jey, Fisher, Flower, Ford, Forney, Fulkerson, Ged- 



des, Georgo, Gibson, Guenther,£imV, Hammond, tf. 
J.; Hardy, Harmer, Harris,Henry S.; Haseltine, Has- 
kell, Hatch, HawJ[, Hazelton, Heiiman, Herbert 
Herndon, Hewitt, Abram S. ; Hewitt, G. W. ; Hill, 
H.scock, Hoblitzell, Hoge, Holman, Horr, Houk, 
House, Hubbs, Hutchins, Jacobs, Jadwin, Jones, 
George W.; Jones, James K.; Jorgensen, Kasson, 
Keley. Kenva, Ketcbara.AYote, Knott, Lacey, Ladd, 
Latham, Leedom, Le Fe ire, Lew is. Lord, Manning, 
Marsh, Mason, Matson, McC'lure, McCook, McKenzie, 
McKinley. McLane, Miles, Miller, Money, Morey, 
Morrison, Mosgrove, Moulton, Muldrow. Murch, Neal, 
Nolan, Oates, O'Neill. Pacbeco Pa<?e, Paul, Payson, 
Peelle, Peirce, Phelps, Pound, Prescott, Randall, 
Reagan, Reed, Rice, Tberon M.; Rich, Robertson, 
Robeson, Robinson, George D.; Robinson, James 
S. : Robinson, William E.; Rowcrans, Tioss, Russell, 
Rvan, Sera ton, Shackelford, Shallenberger, Shel- 
ley, Sherwin, Simonton, Singleton, Otho R.; Smith, 
A. Herr; Smith, ]>. C; Smith, J. H.; Sparks, Spau!- 
clng, Specr; spooner, Springer, Steele, Strait, Tal- 
bott, Tiilman, Townsen^, Amos, Townshend,R. W.; 
Tucker, Turner, Henry 67.; Turner; Oscar; Tyler, 
Updeoraff, J. T.i Upson, Unier, Valentine, Vance, 
Van Horn, Wait, Warner, Web:>er, Wellborn, West, 
Wheeler, Whice, Witthome, W.Uiams, T.; Wdlis, 
Willits, Wise, George D.; Wise, M. R— 202. 

NAYS.— Messrs. Bowman Bragg, Briggs, Buck, 
Carpenter, Cwpo, Dawts, Deering. Dinsley, 
Dwigbt, Farwell, Sewell S., Grout. Hall, Ham- 
Hardenbergh, Humphrey Joyce, McCuid, Moore, 
Morse, Nororos--, Orth, Parker, Rannev, Rav, Rice, 
John B.; R:ce, William W\; Ritchie Shultz, Skin- 
ner, Stone, Thompson, Van Aernam Van Voorhis, 
Wadsworth, Ward, Williams, C. G.— 37. 

And on April 25, the bill, after being 
amended, was passed in the Senate — 
yeas 32, nays 15. 

Yeas— Messrs. Beck, Butler. Call, Cameron of 
Wisconsin. Chilcott, Coke, Davis of Illinois, 
Fair, Farley, Garland, George, Grover, Hale, 
Hampton, Harris, Hill of Colorado, Johnston, 
Jonas, Jones of Nevada, Maxey, Miller of Cali- 
fornia, Miller of New York, Morgan, Pendleton, 
Pugh, Saunders, Slater, Vance, Van Wyck, Vest, 
Walker, Williams— 32. 

Nays— Messrs. Allison. Blair. Conger, Davres, 
Edmunds. Frye. Harrison, Hawley, Hoar, In- 
galls, Laphani, McMillan, Morrill, Piatt, Sher- 
man— 15. 

The Senate amendments were con- 
curred in by the House, and the bill be- 
came a law by the signature of the Pres- 
ident. 

Principal Sections of Bill as Passed and 
Approved by President Artbur. 

The following principal sections ol 
the law as passed under the recommen- 
dation of President Arthur : 

An Act to execute certain treaty stipulations 
relating to Chinese. 

Whereas, in the opinion of the Government of 
the United States the coming of Chinese labor- 
ers to this country endangers the good order 
of certain localities -within the territory thereof, 
Therefore, 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of [Repre- 
sentatives of the United States of America in Con- 
gress assembled , That from and after the expir- 
ation of ninety days next after the passage of 
this act, and until the expiration of ten yea~s 
next after the passage of this act, the coming of 
Chinese laborers to the United States be, and 
the sameis hereby, suspended : and during such 
suspension it shall not be lawful for any Chi- 
nese laborer to come, or, having so come after 
the expiration of said ninety days, to remain 
within the United States. 



166 



CHINESE QUESTION. 



Sec. 4. That for the purpose of properly iden- 
tifying Chinese laborers who were in the United 
States on the seventeenth day of November, 
eighteen hundred and eighty, or who shall have 
come into the same before the expiration of 
ninety days next after the passage of this act, 
and in order to furnish them with the proper 
evidence of their right to go from and come to the 
United States of their free will and accord, as 
provided by the treaty between the United 
States and China dated November seventeenth, 
eighteen hundred and eighty, the collector of 
customs of the districts from which any such 
Chinese laborer shall depart from the United 
States shall, in person or by deputy, go onboard 
each vessel having on board any .such Chinese 
laborer and cleared or about to sail from his 
district for a foreign port, and on such vessel 
make a list of all such Chinese laborers, which 
shall be entered in registry-books to be kept for 
that purpose, in which shall be stated the name, 
age, occupation, last place of residence, physi- 
cal marks or peculiarities, and all facts neces- 
sary for the identification of each of 6uch Chi- 
nese laborers, which books shall be safely kept 
In the custom-house ; and every such Chinese 
laborer so departing from the United States 
shall be entitled to, and shall receive, free of 
any charge or cost upon application therefor, 
from the collector or his deputy, at the time 
such list is taken, a certificate, signed by the 
collector or his deputy and attested by his seal 
of office in such form as the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall prescribe, which certificate shall 
contain a statement of the name, age, occupa- 
tion, last place of residence, personal descrip- 
tion, and facts of identification of the Chinese 
laborer to whom the certificate is issued, cor- 
responding with the said list and registry in all 
particulars. In case any Chinese laborer after 
having received such certificate shall leave such 
vessel before her departure, he shall deliver his 
certificate to the master of the vessel, and if 
such Chinese laborer shall fail to return to such 
vessel before he'- departure from port the certi- 
ficate shall be delivered by.: he master to the 
collector of customs for cancellation. The cer- 
tificate herein provided for shall entitle the Chi- 
nese laborer to whom the same is issued to re- 
turn to and re-enter the United States upon pro- 
ducing and delivering the same to the collector 
of customs of the district at which such Chinese 
laborer shall seek tore-enter; and upon deliv- 
ery of such certificate by such Chinese laborer 
to the collector of customs at the time of re- 



entry in the United States, said collector shall 
cause the same to be filed in the custom-house- 
and duly canceled. 

Sec. 5. That any Chinese laborer mentioned in 
sectionfourof this act beingin the United States, 
and desiring to depart from the United States- 
by land, shall have the right to demand and re- 
ceive, free of charge or cost, a certificate of 
identification similar to that provided for in 
section four of this act to be issued to such Chi- 
nese laborers as may desire to leave the United 
States by water ; and it is hereby made the duty 
of the collector of customs of the district next 
adjoining the foreign country to which said 
Chinese laborer desires to go to issue such cer- 
tificate, free of charge or cost, upon application 
by such Chinese laborer, and to enter the same 
upon registry -books to be kept by him for the 
purpose, as provided for in section four of this- 
act. 

Sec. 6. That in order to the faithful execution 
of articles one and two of the treaty .in this act 
before mentioned, every Chinese person other 
than a laborer, who may be entitled by said 
treaty and this act to come within the United. 
States, and who shall be about to come to the 
United States, shall be identified as so entitled 
by the Chinese government in each case, such 
identy to be evidenced by a certificate issued. 
under the authority of said government, which 
certificate shall be in the English language or 
(if not in the English language) accompanied) by 
a translation into English, stating such right to* 
come, and which certificate shall state the name, 
title, or official rank, if any, the age, height, and. 
all physical peculiarities, former and present 
occupation or profession, and place of residence 
in China of the person to whom the certificate is- 
issued and that such person is entitled conform- 
ably to the treaty in this act mentioned to come 
within the United States. Such certificate shall 
be prima facie evidence of the facts set forth 
therein, and shall be produced to the collector 
of customs, or his deputy, of the port in tho dis- 
trict in the United States at which the person 
named therein shall arrive. 

Sec. U. That hereafter no State court or court 
of the United States shall admit Chinese to citi- 
zenship ; and all laws in conflict with this act 
arc hereby repealed. 

Sec. 15. That the words " Chinese laborers," 
wherever used in this act, shall be construed to- 
mean both skilled and unskilled laborers audi 
Chinese employed in mining. 

Approved May 6, 1882. 



CONFEDERATE AND L>NION SOLDIERS. 



167 



OHAPTEK X. 



Confederate Soldiers under Democratic Congress- 
Union Soldiers in the Departments. 



" RESOLVED That the soldiers and sailors of the Republic, and the widows and orphans of those xuho 
have fallen in battle, have a just claim upon the care, protection and gratitude of their fellow-citizens." 
—Democratic National Platform of 1876. . . . 

"* * * Experience proves that efficient, economical conduct of the governmental business zs not 
possible if its civil service be subject to change at every election, be apri^e fought for at the ballot-box, 
be a brief reward of party zeal, instead of posts of honor assigned for proved competency, and held for 
fidelity in the public employ." * * * —Democratic National Platforui of 18/6. 

"We pledge ourselves anew to the constitutional doctrines and traditions of the Democratic Party, 
as * * * embodied in the Platform of the last National Convention of the Party."— Democratic Na- 
tional Platform of 18S0. 



PART I. 

Democratic Civil Service 
Reform in the House- 
Wounded and Crippled 
Uniou Soldiers Kicked 
Out to Give Place to Rebel 
Soldiers— "IMnna ye hear 
the Slogan M — 'Tis Jeff Da- 
vis and His Hen. 

On the 14th day of December, 1875, Mr. 
Fort, Republican, made an effort to pre- 
vent wounded Union soldiers from being 
set aside by the then Democratic House, 
and to that end introduced the follow- 
ing 

Resolution Favoring Wounded Union 
Soldiers: 

Resolved, That in all subordiate appointments, 
under any of the officers; of this House, it is the 
judgment of this House that wounded Union sol- 
diers, who are not disabled from performance of 
duty, should be preferred. 

Upon this he demanded the previous 
question; but the Confederate element 
was too strong for him and the House re- 
fused to second it ! 
Sitizen Samcox to the Rescue— He 

Voices Confederate Sentiment on that 

Question, and all the Democrats, but 

two, Cry " Amen !*' 

Thereupon S. S. Cox offered the fol- 
lowing substitute and moved its refer- 
ence to the Committee on Accounts: 

Resolved, That Inasmuch as the Union of the 
States has been restored, all the citizens thereof 
are entitled to consideration in all appointments 
to offices under Uus Government. 

The vote on the motion was yeas, 168' 
nays, 102. Ui' those voting in the affir- 



mative 106 were Democrats and two- 
were Republicans. Of those voting in 
the negative 100 were Republicans and 
two were Democrats. This resolution, 
having virtually declared in favor of 
placing rebels on an equality with 
wounded Union soldiers, was in strict 
accordance with Democratic usage, and 
hence commanded its undivided sup- 
port. 

A Patriotic, hut car efully worded, Res- 
olution which Commanded the Sup- 
port of Both Parties. 

On the 5th of January, 1876, the holi- 
day recess having intervened, Mr. Cason, 
Republican, offered the following reso- 
lution : 

Be it resolved, etc.. That we recognize the brave 
and gallant services rendered by the loyal sol- 
dier to his country in the time of its greatest need 
and peril, and that we do earnestly recommend 
to the people of our common country the utmost 
care and watchfulness over the rights and inter- 
ests of these brave men, securing to each one in 
need of employment and to such and their fami- 
nes the necessaries and comforts of life ; and in 
all cases of public employment and in the bestow- 
mentof the emoluments of office, that, all other 
tl'.ings'being equal, the soldier shall hare thepref- 
erence over the civilian; and, as one branch of 
the legislative department of this Government, 
ice are in favor of laws being enacted by Congress 
giving liberal })ensions to (lie deceased and crip- 
pled soldiers, and to the widows and children and 
dependent fathers and mothers of those icho have 
died from wounds or disease contracted while in 
the service of the Union army, and to each living 
soldier, and to the widows and heirs of those 
dead, such bounties and homesteads as a gener- 
ous Government can afford to tbose who have 
won and preserved to the nation its liberty and 
Constitution. 

The previous question being demanded 
was seconded by 142 yeas to 9 nays, and 
the resolution was agreed to bv Repub- 
licans and Democrats alike, the latter 
interpreting the words:— "the soldier 
shall have the preference" — to mean 
either the Confederate or the Union sol- 
dier. 



168 



CONFEDERATE AKJD UNION SOLDIERS. 



Democratic Interpretation of the Cason 
Resolution — Pec&sniffian Hypocrisy 
Exploded. 

That the Democrats did so interpret 
the foregoing resolution is shown by the 
vote on the following resolution, intro- 
duced on the same day, by Mr. Fort : 

Resolved, That the doctrine just announced by 
the House in the resolution of the gentlemen from 
Indiana (Mr. Cason) is so wise and just that, in 
the judgment of this House, it should be followed 
by officers of the House in filling subordinate 
places under their authority; and that in all 
such cases they are hereby instructed to give to 
well-qualified Union soldiers preference over sol- 
diers, of the late Confederate army. 

On this, he demanded the previous 
question, but the Democratic House re- 
fused to second it, by 93 yeas to 103 nays. 
Thereupon Fernando Wood, by way of 
adding insult to injury, sneeringly 
moved to refer the resolution to the 
Committee on Centennial Celebration — 
which motion was agreed to by 122 yeas 
to 93 nays— all the yeas being Demo- 
crats. 



PART II. 

w Civil Service I&eform " in 
a Democratic Senate — A 
Ruie 9 adopted in 1854 for 
« Spoils,*' is Abrogated in 
1879 for « Spoils " — Con- 
federate Soldiers to the 
J?ore, and Union Soldiers 
Bounced* 

When it became evident to the Demo- 
cratic Senate, in 1854, that the term of 
Democratic ascendency in that body was 
about to expire, it appointed a select 
committee to devise a plan to keep the 
Democratic officers of that body in their 
places, and accordingly the following 
resolution was concocted, and on Janu- 
ary 17, 1854, it passed the Senate by a 
decisive vote, and became a standing 
rule of the Senate : 

Resolved, That the several officers and others 
in the departments of the Secretary of the Sen- 
ate and of the Sergeant-at-Arms shall be ap- 
pointed and removed from ofHce by those officers 
respectively as heretofore ; but when made dur- 
ing the session of the Senate any such removal 
to be first approved by the President of the Sen- 
ate on reasons to be assigned therefor in writing 
by the officer making the removal, and when in 
the recess, such reasons in writing to be laid be- 
fore the President of the Senate on the first day 
of the succeeding session, and to be approved or 
disapproved by him. 

The Republicans Adhered to the Rule, 
and Allowed the Democratic Officers 
to Live and Die in their Places- 
Rut the Democrats Kill Their Own 



Offspring in order to Weed HttHgTry 
Rebels. 

When the Republicans came into 
power they made no effort to disturb that 
rule, nor to disturb the old officers, who, 
in the course of years died out or re- 
signed, one by one, as age or other call- 
ings beckoned them. Thus it remained 
— this Democratic rule— through all the 
years of the Republican majority in the 
Senate. But early in 1879, the Demo- 
crats having a majority at the extra ses- 
sion of that year, and being importuned 
by a ravenous multitude of Southern 
and other Democratic place-hunters, 
determined— as they could not get the 
President of the Senate to consent to the 
removal of the experienced and efficient 
Republicans in the offices of the Secre- 
tary and Sergeant-at-Arms— to annul 
the rule that their own party had made 
— to go back on their own offspring, as 
it were— in order to get the few "loaves 
and fishes" pertaining to the Senate or- 
ganization. This was decided on in 
caucus, and Senator Wallace, the chair- 
man of that Democratic Senatorial cau- 
cus, undertook to engineer the thing 
through, and on the 17th of April, 1879, 
offered the following 

Democratic Caucus Resolution : 

Resolved, That the several officers and others 
in the departments of the Secretary of the Sen- 
ate and of the Sergeant-at-Arms shall be ap- 
pointed and removed from office by those officers 
respectively. 

Senator Edmunds' Effort to Protect 
Union Soldiers. 

Mr. Edmunds thereupon moved to 
amend by adding the following: 

But no officer or employee of the Senate "who 
served in the forces of the United States in sup- 
pressing the late rebellion shall be removed ex- 
cept for cause stated in writing to the President 
of the Senate and approved by him in writing. 

Mr. Wallace assured Senator Edmunds 
that " there need be no apprehension on, 
this apparently tender subject," and that 
the Democratic majority had no inten- 
tion of removing Union Soldiers who 
held offices under the Senate. 

Senator Conkling Exposes Wallace's 
Ouplicity. 

Mr. Conkling then rose and expressed 
his " surprise" at the statement, and con- 
tinued as follows: 

I assert that they [the Democratic majority] 
have already acted in violation of what the Sen- 
ator says. I assert that they have already re- 
moved a Union Soldier — a man who servedin Hie 
armies of the Union and was discharged because 
of the injuries h-e received, and yet the honorable 
Senator says it is not worth while to guard this 
because the majority may be trusted to abstain, 
much as the overseer may be trusted to abstain 
from the lash L * * * I refer to Mr. Fitz 
who has been removed from a position in the 
office of the Secretaiy of the Senate, a position 
whose duties he never neglected or came short 
•in. 



CONFEDERATE AND UNION SOLDIERS. 



J>emocraiic Unanimity in favor of the 
Confederate Soldier and against the 
Union Soldier. 

Of course the adoption of such an 
amendment as that of Mr. Edmunds, 
would defeat one of the very objects 
of the repeal of the old rule. Union 
Soldiers were the very fellows the old brig- 
adiers were " (funning for." Hence, when, 
on April 25, iS79, the amendment came 
to a vote, while every Republican voted 
for the amendment, every Democrat voted 
against it! 

Senator Carpenter Makes One More 
Effort in Favor of Loyalty as Against 
Treason— But is Defeated by a Strict 
Party Vote. 

Senator Carpenter then moved to add 
the following : 

But no office or employment made vacant by 
the removal or dismissal of a person who served 
in the forces of the Union, during the late war 
shall be tilled or supplied by the appointment or 
■employment of any person who served in the 
Confederate army at any time during said war. 

Of course that also was voted down — 
.yeas 26, nays 34, — all Republicans voting 
for the amendment and all Democrats 
against it. 

To the Victors Belong the Spoils— The 
Resolution Adopted and the Work of 
••Civil Service Reform " Begun. 

Mr. Wallace's rule was then adopted 
by a strict party vote. Having thus re- 
moved the only legal impediment to the 
expulsion of the old employees, the Sec- 
retary of the Senate and Sergeant-at- 
Arms at once began the work of pro- 
scription. " To the victors belong the 
spoils." Loyal employes, maimed sol- 
diers, and efficient and experienced offi- 
cials were indiscriminately swept from 
the offices of the Senate— many of their 
places supplied by Confederates, and 
all by raw and inexperienced persons. 

Wholesale Slaughter of Union Soldiers 
to Make Vacancies for Rebel Soldiers 
—The Wounded, Claimed and Disabled 
Alike Fall the Victims of Democratic 
Hate of Cnion Soldiers— Their Plaees 
Filled by Rebel Brigadiers, Colonels 
and Captains. 

As soon as the Democrats obtained 
full possession of the Capitol the work 
of proscribing all who had a taint of 
loyalty was begun. Seventy -six Union 
soldiers at once fell victims to Demo- 
cratic hatred of these representatives of 
the force which saved the Union from 
destruction. Of these about one-half 
were soldiers who bore upon their bodies 
the evidence of their political princi- 
ples in the shape of wounds. 

Their places were filled by eighty - 
<eight soldiers from the anny of treason. 



PART III. 

The Washington Police — 
"Put Xone but Confede- 
rates on Guards" will be 
the Watchword when 
democrats obtain full 
Power — The preliminary 
Steps already taken. 

Section 354 of the Revised Statutes 
provides that no person shall serve on 
the Washington police force who lias 
not served in, and been honorably dis- 
charged from either the Army or the 
Navy of the United States. 

June 9, 1880, in the Senate, pending 
the bill (S. 1394) to increase the police 
force of the District of Columbia, the fol- 
lowing amendment was reported from 
the Committee on the District of Co- 
lumbia : 

Sec. 2. That so raucli of section 354 of the Re- 

j vised Statutes of the United States, relating to 

the District of Columbia, as requires that " no 

person shall he appointed as policeman or 

watchman -who lias hot served in the Army or 

Navy of the United States and received an hon- 

, orable discharge," be and the same is hereby 

1 repealed. 

The clause was agreed to by a vote of 
I yeas 25, nays 15 — all the yeas being 
Democrats and all the nays Republicans. 
The proposition had originally passed 
the Rouse. In the debate which ensued 
j in the Senate, the Republicans resisted 
■ the repeal on the ground that the time 
[ has not yet come when the Union sol- 
dier should be set aside for the Confed- 
| erate soldier. But Mr. Beck insisted on 
the repeal, and announced the existing 
j law excluding Confederates as the mean- 
est vengeance towards a political op- 
ponent (meaning an ex- Confederate), 
' or the lowest demagogry, and it was 
! practically announced as the future pol- 
i iey of the Democracy, in all mattes of 
; appointments, that the Confederates 
were to have at least an " equal chance." 



PART IV. 

Senator Harrison's Report 
on Voorhees' Resolution 
—The Man Who Re- 
nounced Union Soldiers 
as "^Lincoln's Rogs" in 
1864, is Solicitous for 
their Welfare in 1882. 

On the 16th of March, 1882, Senator 
Voorhees, of Indiana, the gentleman 



170 



CONFEDERATE AND UNION SOLDIERS. 



who, in 1864, denounced Union soldiers 
as " Lincoln hirelings," " Lincoln dogs, 
with collars around their necks, labeled 
* A. Lincoln/ " etc., etc., introduced in 
the Senate the following resolution : 

Whereas, the following provision of law, en- 
acted in 1865, is contained in section 1754 of the 
Revised Statutes of the United States, to wit : 

"Persons honorably discharged from the mil- 
itary and naval service by reason of disability, 
resulting from wounds or sickness incurred in 
the line of duty, shall bft preferred for appoint- 
ments to civil offices, provided they are found 
to possess the business capacity necessary for 
the proper discharge of the duties of such of- 
fices:" 

Therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the Committee on Military Af- 
fairs be, and they are hereby, instructed to in- 
quire into, and report to this body— 

1st. Whether said section is in full force and 
effect, or whether it has been in manner re- 
pealed^ odified, or rendered nugatory and void. 

2d. Whether said section hasbeen faithfully 
executed in appointments to civil offices un- 
der the government, or whether it has been 
openly and habitually disregarded and violated. 

3. Whetner the terms and meaning of said 
section apply to provost and deputy provost 
marshals, quartermasters, and sutlers who were 
not disabled in the military or naval service of 
the United States, or whether they apply solely 
to persons who have been honorably discharged 
from such service by reason of disability aris- 
ing from wounds or sickness incurred in the 
line of duty; and, 

4th. Whether any additional legislation is 
necessary to cause the provisions of this law 
to be carried out and enforced by the various 
departments of this government. 



Voorhees wants to know, You know-He 
fears that Union soldiers are not prop- 
erly cared for by Republicans. 

The object which the Senator had in 
view is patent on the face of the reso- 
lution. He was fearful lest the govern- 
ment was neglecting these "Lincoln 
dogs," in not providing proper kennels 
for their accomodation, or proper col- 
lars for their identification. The only 
explanation which he vouchsafed is con- 
tained in the following words : 

Considering the practices of this government 
and the various departments, I thought perhaps 
the law was one that had crept in and was dis- 
regarded because it was not binding. I thought; 
it was possible, because it has been openly and 
habitually disregarded, as everybody knows. 

The resolution was promptly passed 
and referred to the Committee on Mili- 
tary Affairs ; and on July 3, 1882, Sena- 
tor Harrison, from that committee, made 
a report, the substance of which is as 
follows: 

The Senate Committee Finds that the 
Law is In Force, in Letter and Spirit. 

To the first inquiry embraced in the 
resolution, the committee reported that 
the law is in full force, and also ex- 
pressed the opinion that while section 
1754 relates in terms only to disabled 
soldiers, the spirit of the law has 
a much wider scope. Section 1755 



enacted at the same time, is as fol- 
lows: 

In grateful recognition of the services, sacri- 
fices, and suffering of persons honorably dis- 
charged from the military and naval service of" 
the country, by reason of wounds, disease, or 
the expiration of terms of enlistment, it is re- 
spectfully recommended to bankers, merchants, 
manufacturers, mechanics, farmers, and per- 
sons engaged in industrial pursuits,to give them 
preference for appointments to remunerative 
situations and employments. 

This section, it will be observed, ex- 
tends to all soldiers honorably dis- 
charged, whether for disability or ex- 
piration of their terms of enlistment, 
and it cannot be supposed that Con- 
gress intended to suggest to business- 
men in their private employments a> 
more liberal policy towards the sol- 
diers than it was willing to adopt in the 
civil service of the country. 

Fifty-two Per cent, of Union Soldiers 
in the Treasury Department. 

Regarding the second inquiry th& 
Committee reported that they had ad- 
dressed to the heads of all the Execu- 
tive Departments inquiries touching the 
matters under investigation, in response- 
to which they received the following 
statements : 

The Secretary of the Treasury re- 
ported that— 

The records show that out of 1,548 appoint- 
ments and reappointments from March, 1877, to> 
March. 1882, 803 were persons who either served, 
in the military or naval service, and were hon- 
orably discharged therefrom, or were widows- 
or orphans of soldiers and sailors. 

It will be seen that in the Treasury 
Department nearly 52 per cent, of alL 
the appointments made since 1877 have 
involved a recognition of service ren- 
dered in the war by the appointee, or by" 
a dead father or husband. 

Sixty- three Per Cent, of Union Sol- 
diers in the War Department. 

The Secretary of War reported that 
the records of the War Department 
show that ; 

"Of the present number of civilian employees- 
in the War Department 1,038 have been ap- 
pointed since March 3, 1865, of which number 
there are 68 female and 15 boys, leaving as male 
adult appointees 995. Of this number 602 (or- 
more than 63 per cent.) have served in the Army 
or Navy* an d 137 (or more than 22 per cent, of 
those who served in the Army or Navy* were 
discharged for disability resulting from wounds 
or sickness incurred in the line of "duty." 

This letter from the Secretary of War 
is more directly responsive to the in- 
quiry than others received, as it gives 
the per cent, of disabled soldiers. The 
committee have also learned by inquiry 
that of the 68 females reported as em- 
ployed in the War Department, 23 ar& 
widows or orphans of soldiers. 



CONFEDERATE AND UNION SOLDIERS. 



171 



Thirty-four per cent, of Union Sol- 
diers in the Interior Department. 

The following is tlie response of the 
Secretary of the Interior : 

Sin : * * * * I beg leave to state that the 
said provision of law has been recognized and 
executed in the appointments made in this De- 
partment, so tar as practicable, and that the 
records show that of -the whole force, 457 per- 
sons, or more than 34 per centum served either 
in the Army or Navy, and that of the female 
force of the Department, 128 persons, or more 
than 36 per cent, are either widows, orphans, 
wives, or daughters of Union soldiers and sail- 
ors in the late rebellion. 

Thirty-Six Per Cent, of Union Soldiers 
in the Post Office Department. 

The Postmaster General responded to 
the committee that — 

The total number of employees in the Post 
Office Department is 496. Of these 108 are fe- 
males. Of the remaining 388/138 were either 
soldiers or sailors during the late war. 

Considering the proportion of ex- soldiers and 
sailors now living to the total male adult popu- 
lation of the country, it seems to me the above 
statement shows that the section referred to is 
reasonably well executed in this Department. 

It will be seen from this letter that 
nearly 36 per cent, of the male em- 
ployees of the Post Office Department 
served in the Army or Navy during the 
late war. 

Twenty-Five Per Cent, in the Depart- 
ment of Justice. 



The Attorney General responded 
follows: 



as 



Since I have held the office of Attorney-Gen- 
eral there has been no instance wherein the 
provisions of section 1754 of the Revised Statutes 
have been disregarded or violated. 

The applications of persons bearing the de- 
scription given in that section will be considered 
by me, and v. hen vacancies arc to be filled they 
wiU be preferred, if they are found upon exam- 
ination to have the capacity required by the 
law. 

The letter of the Attorney -General 
does not give the per cent, of ex-soldiers 
employed in his department, but from a 
report made to the Seuate in October, 
1881, it appears little more than 
25 per cent, were of that class. 

Thirty-Four Per Cent, of Union Sol- 
diers in the Navy Department. 

The Secretary of the Navy replied 
that— 

The statute has been dul v obeyed, and, so far 
as I can learn in full accordance with both its 
letter and spirit. * * * 

I have only to add tint this statute, giving 
honorably-discharged soldiers and sailors the 
preference in civil appointments, commends 
itself to my heart and judgment, and will be 
faithfully and fairly observed in this Depart- 
ment, while under my control. 

This letter does not give the figures 
which were desired, but by reference to 



a report of the Navy Department, made 
to the Senate in December last, it was 
ascertained by the committee that 
there were then 208 male employees in 
that department, of which number 72, 
or a little more than 341 per cent., had 
served in the Army or Navy. 

Twenty-Five Per Cent, of Union Sol- 
diers in the State Department — Forty 
Per Cent, in the Diplomatic and 
Consular Service. 

The Secretary of the State respon- 
ded: 

1st. That since the passage of the resolution 
of the 3d of March, 1865, this Department has di- 
rected its efforts to a careful and faithful ob- 
servance of the letter and spirit of that resolu- 
tion. 

The clerics and employees of this Department 
comprise less than 80, and most of them require? 
special training, which can only be gained by 
long experience ; but even of these, 25 per cent. 
of the number of male clerks are discharged sol- 
diers. 

2d. In the diplomatic and consular service not 
less than 40 per coat, of the whole number are 
honorably-discharged Union soldiers, and of 
them at least one-half are discharged for dis- 
ability. 

The Senate not in Good Condition to 
Read ILectures to others on Love for 
the Union Soldier— But its Love for 
the Confederate Soldier passeth the 
Love of a Woman— Fourteen per cent, 
of Union Soldiers and twenty-two per 
cent, of Confederate Soldiers in the 
employ of the Secretary of Senate. 

The committee then proceed to 
say: 

Your comuridtee feel that the Senate, having 
as a part of the na ioual legislature helped to 
place section 1754 on the statute book, is as a 
body under peculiar obligations to enforce this 
law in selecting its own officers and employees. 
An inquirj of the Acting Secretary of the Senate 
upon this subject was answered by him as fol- 
lows : 

Then follows a table furnished by the 
Acting Secretary, on which the com- 
mittee remarks: 

It will be seen that a little over 14 per cent, of 
the employees of the Secretary's Otfice served 
in the Union Army or Navy, while something 
over 22 per cent, served, in the Confederate Army. 

Sixteen Per Cent, of Union Soldiers in 
the Employ of the Sergeant-at-Arms 
of the Senate : and Fifteen Per Cent, of 
Confederate Soldiers. 

The Sergeant-at-Arms of the Senate 
furnished a roll of employees, with 
marks indicating "so far as known," 
the service rendered in either the Union 
or Confederate service, from which the 
committee makos the following deduc- 
| tions : 

The number of male employees under the Ser- 
geant-at-Arms, not including the Senate pacrcs^ 
1 is 107 ; of these, 9 are r^^'mgers nominated i>y 



172 



CONFEDERATE AND UNION SOLDIERS. 



the committee wLich they serve, and appointed 
^y the Sergeant-at-Arins. Of these, Mr. Bright 
has marked 17 persons, or a little less than 16 per 
cent, of his force, as having served in the Union 
Army, and 16 persons, or a little less than 15 per 
cent, as having served in the Confederate Army. 
He has also indicated, upon the roll furnished, 
those persons who were employed hefore he 
was elected Sergeant-at-Arms. From these 
marks it appears that 30 of the 107 persons who 
were reported as now employed were appointed 
hy Mr. Bright's predecessor. Of these 30 per- 
sons retained, 8 are marked as Union soldiers 
or sailors. It follows, then, that of the 77 new 
appointments made hy Mr. Bright, including 
the 9 made upon the suggestion of the commit- 
tees, onlv 9, or less than 12 per cent, weere ap- 
pointed from that class which the statute says 
shall be preferred. 

It appears also from the roll that of the 16 Ccn- 
.federate soldiers now employed only 2 were on the 
rolls when Mr. Bright took the office. In other 
words, 9 Union soldiers and 14 Confederates have 
been appointed. 

The Capitol police force, which is ap- 
pointed by a board consisting of the Ser- 
geant-at-Arms of the Senate, the Ser- 
geant-at-Arms of the House, and the 
Architect of the Capitol, as reported by 
the Captain, is as follows : 

Number of officers and men, 33; in Union 
.Army, 17, (of this number four were wounded) ; 
in Confederate Army, i ; not in either army, 
12. 

The I>epartments average Forty per 
cent, of Union Soldiers— The Senate 
averages Fifteen Per Cent. 

The Committee concludes its report 
on this branch of the subject as fol- 
lows: 

It will be seen that the average per cent, of 
soldiers and sailors employed in the different 
-executive deparments (taking in the State De- 
partment the mean between 25 and 40) is 40 per 
cent., while the average in the Senate offices is 
'15 pir cent. While this condition of things exists 
the Senate does not occupy a favorable ground 
from which to lecture the, other departments of 
the Government. 

The House Clerh employs 47 per cent, 
of Union Soldiers— The Sergeant-at- 
Arms 71"per cent.— The I>oorheeper 53 
per cent. 

Of the appointees under the House 
the committee says : 

Wo have received from the Clerk of the House 
*of Representatives a letter, from which the fol- 
lowing facts are taken : There are 36 clerks and 
assistants employed in his office, of whom 17, 
or a little more than 47 per cent, served in the 
Union Army, and cne in the Confederate Army. 

We are also informed by a letter from the Ser- 
jeant-at-Arms of the House that of the 7 em- 
ployees in his office, 5, or a little more than 71 
"jer »ent. served in the Union Army. 



The Doorkeeper of the House informs us that 
of 90 employees on the permanent roll 47 servec 
in the Union Army and 3 in the Confederate 
Army. He also adds that among the total 
number of employees given one is a page and 
one a woman. Deducting these from the total 
number of employees, we have over 53 per cent 
of Union soldiers on his force. He also adds 
tbat among the pages there are 14 who are sons 
of Union soldiers. 

It will be seen that of the total number of em- 
ployees in the offices of tbe Clerk, Sergeant-at- 
Arms, and Doorkeeper of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, nearly 53 p*r cent, were Union sol- 
diers. 

Recapitulation, 

The per cent, of Union soldiers in the 
Departments and in the House of Rep- 
resentatives, as shown by the foregoing : 

Per cent. 

Treasury Department 52 

War Department 63 

Interior Department 34 

Post Office Department 36 

Justice Department , 25 

Navy Department 34 

State Department (mean) 33 

Office of Clerk of the House . . 47 

Sergeant-at-Arms, House ...... 71 

Doorkeeper of House 53 

Average 4 

Per cent, of Union soldiers in the em- 
ployment of the Senate : 

Per cent. 

Secretary's Office m 

Sergeant-at-Arms' Office 16 

Average 15 

Per cent, of Confederate soldiers 
in the employment of the Senate : 

Per cent. 

Secretary's Office 22 

Sergeant-at-Arms' Office 15 

Average 18£ 

Thus it will be seen that the average 
of Union soldiers employed in the de- 
partments and the House of Representa- 
tives (all Republican) is 45 per cent, ; 
while in the Senate — the employees be- 
ing under the control of the Democrats 
—there is the beggarly showing of 15 
per cent, of Union soldiers, which is off- 
set by 18 l-2percent. of Confederate sol- 
diers. Is Senator Voorhees content? 



V 



PENSIONS AND BOUNTIES. 



123: 



OHAPTEE XL 



Pensions and Bounties. 



PART I. 

Bill for Equalisation of 
Bounties in 43d Congress 
| only failed to beeonie a 
law by being passed too late 
to receive President's sig- 
n a t u r e — Representative 
Democrats in House Vote 
against it — Only one Dem- 
ocrat in Senate voted for 
it. 

The43d Congress, (Republican) passed 
a bill lor the equalization of boun- 
ties which failed to become a law, 
owing to the fact that it passed too late 
to receive the President's signature. 

Such representative Democrats iu the 
House as Clarkson N. Potter, Thomas 
Swan, Eppa Huuton, et al., voted 
£ gainst it, and in the Senate only one 
democrat voted for it. 

The Democrats in House of 44th Con- 
gress revive Republican measure for 
Equalization of Bounties — Rebel 
Brigadiers oppose its passage — A 
Trick of the Democracy to place Re- 
publicans in false Position — They 
failed— It would have again passed if 
it could have been reached in time 
by Senate. 

The 44th Congress (the House being 
Democratic) revived the measure 
passed in the 43d. The Democrats 
made a movement in its favor — not be- 
cause they wished it to become a law — 
but because they knew that to equalize 
the bounties under it would cost at 
least $100,000,000, and there being no 
money in the Treasury available for 
the purpose, the national debt would 
have to be increased that amount in 
order to meet it— a measure which they 
knew would meet with widespread de- 
nunciation. The Rebel Brigadiers, 
however, such as Blackburn, Buckner, 
Forney, Goode, Hooker, Hereford, 
Hunton, Mills, Reagan, Schleicher, 
Throckmorton, et al., violently opposed 
it, while only two Republicans voted 
against it. It was originally a Repub- 
lican measure and passed both Houses 



when they were Republican, and would 
have passed again in 1876, if the Sen- 
ate could have readied it in time, and 
there had been money in the Treasury 
to meet the expense without increasing 
the national debt. 

Republicans pass Additional Bounty 
Act of 1866, under which was paid 
$71,154,529.81. 

In 1866 the Republicans passed what 
was known as the " additional county 
act," under which the soldiers have 
been paid $71,154, 529.81. 



PART n. 

Pensions — The Fundament- 
al Pension Aet of July 
14, 1862, etc. 

The many Acts passed by Republicans 
for the benefit of the Soldier— More 
than 1,500,000 Settlements made 
under them in Pension Office — More 
than $404,000,000 paid to Pensioners, 
Ac. —All evincing- the substantial 
Gratitude of Republican Party to 
Union Soldiers. 

The fundamental law under which 
pensions are granted was passed by the 
Republicans July 14, 1862, when the ma- 
jority of Democratic leaders were either 
in arms against the Government or 
plotting treason at the Capitol. 

It bestowed with a lavish hand pen- 
sions upon all those who should become 
disabled, in whole or in part, in the ser- 
vice of their country, and to the depen- 
dent relatives of those who should die 
from causes originating in such service, 
including widows, children, mothers, 
and sisters. 

It was the first comprehensive pro- 
vision in that behalf, and laid the foun- 
dation for the generous allowances now 
made by law. 

The acts of April 9, 1864, July 4, 
1864, March 3, 1865, June 6, 1866, 
July 25, 1868, Julv 27, 1868, July 7, 

1870, July 8, 1870, February 14, 

1871, June 8, 1872, March 3, 1873, June 6,, 
1874, June 18, 1874 (2,) as will be ob- 
served, rapidly followed, under the Re- 
publican control of Congress. 



174 



PENSIONS AND BOUNTIES. 



They all liberalize the provisions of 
the fundamental law, either by enlarg- 
ing the classes benefited, or by increas- 
ing the amounts payable to classes 
theretofore established. 

Among other important provisions 
the following are most prominent : 

I. The extension of the limitation 
"within which claims should be hied — 
to commence the pension from the date 
of discharge in the case of a soldier, and 
from his death in the case of a widow 
or dependent relative. 

The fundamental law made the limit 
one year. The act of June 6, 1866, ex- 
tended it to three years, and the act of 
July 27, 1868, to five years, and under 
both these laws arrears of pensions 
were allowed and paid in thousands of 
cases. 

II. The act of July 4, 1864, increased 
pensions for loss of both feet from $8 
to $20 per month, and for loss of both 
hands or both eyes, from $8 to $25 per 
month. It also included non-enlisted 
men disabled while serving as pension- 
able, and granted the accrued pension 
due a pensioner to his relatives. 

The act of March 3, 1865, increased 
pensions for loss of foot and hand from 
$8 to $20 per month. The act of June 
•6, 1866, increased invalid pensions as 
follows : 

Loss of both hands or both feet to 
$25 per month. 

Loss of both feet or hand and foot to 
$20 per month. 

Loss of one hand or one foot, or 
equivalent disability, $15 per month. 

These provisions benefitted 19,000 
pensioners. 

That act also enlarged the provisions of 
the act of July 4, 1864, by giving to the 
relatives of a c'aimant all he (the soldier) 
would have received had he lived to 
complete his claim, and was the lirst 
provision of law granting pensions to 
dependent fathers aud orphan brothers. 

The act of July 25, 1866, granted in- 
crease to widow pensioners of $2 a 
month for each child, by the soldier, 
nnder sixteen years of age, and if there 
was no widow T , increased the pensions 
-of minor children to an amount equal to 
that the widow would have received. 
Under this provision 18,000 pensions 
were at once increased, and a large 
number annuallv since. 

The act of July 27, 1868, gave the $2 
per month increase for children of the 
soldier by a former wife, increased the 
pensions of those soldiers who, having 
only one eye, lost the same because of 
their service, from $8 to $25 per month, 
&c, &c. 

The act of July 8, 1870, provided a new 
system— substantially that now in use— 
for paying pensions, making the pay- 



ments quarterly instead of semi-an- 
nually, requiring all checks to be drawn 
to the order of the pensioner, and other- 
wise throwing around them safeguards 
to protect the pensioners from being 
defrauded by those they employed to 
collect their pension. 

The act of February 14, 1871, was the 
first provision granting pensions for 
service in the war of 1812. 

The act of June 8, 1872, entitled all 
who had received $15, $18, and $24, for 
specific disabilities, to $20, $25, and 
$31.25 respectively. 

The act of March 3, 1873, brought into 
harm onion s relations th e laws previously * 
passed relating to pensions, and largely 
increased those for certain disabilities, 
&c, to wit : for loss of leg above the 
knee, under certain conditions, from 
$18 to $25. 

For disabilities not permanent it 
granted, during their continuance, a 
like pension as if permanent, the latter 
only having been provided for under 
previous laws. It also increased the 
pensions for disabilities entitling to 
more than $8 and less than $18 per 
month, to a rate intermediate to those 
grades, viz : $12, $14, $16, &c. 

The act of June 18, 1874, increased 
the rates of those pensioners entitled to 
$31.25 per month, and whose disabili- 
ties were permanent, to $50 per month. 
Another act of the same date increased 
from $18 to $24 per month the pensions 4 
of all who had lost an arm above the 
elbow or a leg above the knee. 

Under these various provisions of 
law, and the few minor provisions of 
law enacted since the Democrats have 
obtained control of the House of Rep- 
resentatives, exclusive of the Arrears 
Acts of January and March, 1879, more 
than 1,500,000 settlements have been 
made in the Pension Orifice, and more 
than the sum of $404,000,000 has 
been paid thereon. 

It will be observed that under Repub- 
lican auspices tiie classes of pensioners 
were made to embrace all now provided 
for by law, and the rates of pensions 
were liberalized to a scale largely iD ex- 
cess of that ever before adopted by any 
government, and they were made to 
conform to the degrees of disability 
actually existing, viewed in relation to 
the incapacity of the pensioner for 
earning a livelihood, and the classes 
benefited by increased rates are num- 
bered by tens of thousands ; while 
under Democratic control the provisions 
of law enacted benefited but a few, 
and their pensions had already been 
increased to the higher grades. 

Such, in brief, is the Republican 
record of justice and of gratitude to the 
soldier. 



PENSIONS AND BOUNTIES. 



175 



PART III. 

Arrears of Pensions a Re- 
publican Measure. 

The Arrears of Pensions Act— That 
Great Measure of Justice to the Union 
Soldier A Republican Measure— The 
Rice Bill— Its Fraud— Attempts to Se- 
cure Arrears for Rebel Mexican War 
Pensioners — The Cummings-Maskell 
Bill Granting Arrears of Pensions to 
Union Soldiers substituted for it and 
Passed— Yeas and Nays upon its Pas- 
sage, Ac 

On February 13, 1878, A. V. Eice, the 
Democratic chairman of the House 
•Committee on Pensions, reported a bill 
granting arrears of pensions: "also to 
>authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
restore to the roll the names of invalid 
pensioners striclcen therefrom on account 
of disloyalty," &c; this latter provis- 
ion being the sop thrown to the rebel 
brigadiers to secure their support of or 
acquiescence in the measure. This bill 
was made a special order for February 
■27, 1878, but Mr. Rice failing to secure its 
consideration on that day, Mr. Cum- 
iniugs, a Republican member from Kan- 
sas, on April 2, 1878, introduced the bill 
<H. R. No. 4234) which was subsequently 
passed. It was referred to the Commit- 
tee on Pensions, from which it was not 
reported back ; and on June 19, 1878, 
Mr. Haskell, a Republican member from 
Kansas, moved a suspension of the 
rules, in order that the Committee on 
Pensions may be discharged from the 
further consideration of bill H. R. No. 
4234, and that it be passed with an 
amendment. Thereupon the following 
eolloquy ensued : 

Mr. Ban>*i>~g. I understand that this is the 
hill reported by the Committee on Pensions and 
recommended by them. 

Mr. Eiddle. No, sir ; it is not the bill. 

T be Speaker pro twnpore. Debate is not in or- 
der. 

Mr. Ba>-S'I>'G. I ask for the reading of that 
section which was not contained in the bill re- 
ported from the Committee on Invalid Pensions. 

Mr. Rice, of Ohio. This bill was not reported 
f rem the committee at all. 

Mr. Edex. That is in the nature of the debate, 
and is not in order on a motion to suspend the 
rules. 

Mr. Cummixgs. I call for the yeas and nays 
upon the motion to suspend the rules. * * * 
I withdraw the demand for the yeas and nays 
for the present. 

The Question was put on the motion to sus- 
pend the rules— ayes 90, noes 20; no quorum 
voting. 

Mr. Haskell. I call for tellers. 

Mr. Browne. I call for yeas and nays. 

Mr. White. Cannot we understand whether 
this is the bill that was reported from the Com- 
mittee on Invalid Pensions or not 1 

Mr. Rice, of Ohio. I will state that it is not 
the bill. I have been trying to get the bill, re- 
ported unanimously from the committee, acted 
upon, but hare failed to do so. 

Mr. Conger. * I demand the yeas and nays. 

Ordered, and the bill was passed. 



The bill, the passage of which was se- 
cured under Mr. Haskell's motion, grant- 
ed arrears to the date of discharge or 
death of the soldier without restriction 
or limitation, and gave to the pensioners, 
as estimated by the Commissioner of 
Pensions, the sum of $34, 000, 000 in claims 
settled before the date of the act, while 
the bill, which Mr. Rice had reported to 
the House four months before, and 
which he had " been trying to get acted 
upon," but had "failed to do so," was a 
qualified bill in the following respects: 

In the first place, it was limited by its 
fourth section to the pensioners on the 
roll. A pensioner having deceased, his 
widow or child, or other relatives, could 
not get a dollar under its provisions ; a 
widow having remarried, or a minor child 
having become sixteen years of age could 
not get a dollar. 

Secondly, it divided the pensioners on 
the roll into three classes, and bestowed 
arrears upon them unequally. To only 
widows, minors, mothers, fathers,broth- 
ers, and sisters, receiving pensions, did 
it give the benefit which they derive 
from the present law. To the soldiers 
themselves it was not so liberal. Those 
disabled by wounds and injuries were to 
be paid from date of discharge, pro- 
vided they tiled their original claims 
within five years ; " otherwise the pen- 
sion shall commence from the time of 
the development of the disability result- 
ing from such wounds or injuries," &c. 

To those soldiers who are pensioned 
for the effect of diseases — the sick, the 
bed-ridden — who, while equally incapa- 
citated with the wounded, are, as a 
class, the greatest sufferers, their pen- 
sions were to be made to commence, not 
from the date of the discharge, but ' 'from 
the date of the application." In other 
words, they were to get no arrears ex- 
cept for the period between the filing of 
their claims in the Pension Office and 
the date of their allowance — an average 
time of about three years. 

Compare the Rice bill, which was not 
passed, with the Cummings - Haskell 
bill, which was passed, in the amount of 
money it bestowed and the numbers 
benefited. According to the estimate of 
the Commissioner of Pensions the Rice 
bill granted arrears as follows : 

To the widows, minors, moth- 
ers, etc 5 645 $4,841,152.00 

To wounded and injured sol- 
dier? 16,659 10,313,586.90 

To the deceased soldiers.... 3,034 606,800.00 

Total 25,338 15,761,538.90 

The Cummings-Haskell bill granted 
arrears on claims allowed before Jan- 
uary 1, 1879 : 

To widows, minors, mothers, 

&C 9.049 $3,758,066.80 

To the soldiers 36,106 25,114,434.40 

Total 45,15 335,-872,50220 



176 



PENSIONS AND BOUNTIES. 



A difference in favor of the soldiers in 
the Cummin gs-Haskell bill over the Rice 
bill of 16,413 soldiers and $14,194,047.50, 
and of 3,404 widows, dependent parents, 
and orphans, and $3,916,914.80. More- 
over, as the title above quoted shows, 
the seventh section of the Rice bill pro- 
prosed the repeal of section 4716 of the 
Revised Statutes, which provides that 
no "money on account of pension shall be 
paid to any person or to the widow, chil- 
dren, or heirs of any deceased person, who, 
in any manner, voluntarily engaged in 
or aided or abetted the late rebellion 
against the authority of the United States." 
and to pay all invalid pensioners, mostly 
of former wars, and who in many in- 
stances had served in the rebel army, 
and in consequence had been stricken 
from the rolls for disloyalty, arrears 
of pensions back to December 25, 1858 — 
in nearly every instance for a longer 
period than the same bill granted to de- 
ceased loyal soldiers of the war of the re- 
bellion. While the amount estimated 
to be payable under the Cunimings-Has- 
kell bill, as above stated, was upwards 
of $33,000,000, it was modified by the 
act of March 3, 1879, which reduced the 
estimate of the Pension Office to $25,- 
000,000, and $24,728,155 have actually 
been paid thereunder. 

Indeed Rice's bill was simply a cover 
under which dropped disloyal pension- 
ers might be restored to the rolls and 
collect their arrears. It was justly de- 
feated. But the Cummings - Haskell 
bill, a Republican measure which actu- 
ally passed, and for which this Demo- 
cratic party, with characteristic as- 
surance, claims all the credit for the 
Democracy, embraces only the loyal 
soldier. 

The Democratic fraud in claiming any 
credit for the passage of this bill (H. R. 
4234) is readily exposed by an analysis 
of the votes by which it was passed. 
In the House the vote was — 

Republican ayes 116 

Republican nays 00 

116 

Democratic ayes 48 

Democratic nays -.- 61 

109 

Showing a Republican majority of 7 over 
the combined vote of the Democrats. 
Of the 48 Democratic ayes 44 were from 
the North — only 4 were from the South. 
In the Senate the vote was — 

Republican ayes 26 

Republican nays 00 

26 

Demecratic ayes 18 

Democratic nays i 

22 

A Republican majority of 4 over the com- 
bined vote of the Democrats. Not a 
single Republican vote was cast against 
it, but the Arrears Act, that great meas- 
ure of justice to the loyal soldier, is in 



every sense purely a Republican meas- 
ure. It was introduced into the House 
by a Republican, (Mr. Cummings,) wa& 
supported in debate by the Republicans, 
and finally passed in both Houses in 
spite of the opposition of the Southern 
Democracy by Republican votes. In the 
House the 61 Democratic votes against it 
were, with three exceptions, all from the 
South, to wit : 

Nays— Messrs. Acklen, Aiken, H.P. Bell, Black- 
burn, Blount, Boone, Bright, Cabell, J. W. Cald- 
well, W. P. Caldwell, Candler, Carlisle, J. B, 
Clarke.Cook. Cravens, Crittenden. Davidson, J.J. 
Davis,Dibrell,Dtirham,Eicklioff.Elam,J.H.EUis r 
Evins, Fenton, Forney, Garth, Gaase, Gibson, Ghid- 
dings. Goode, H. R. Harris, J. T. Harris, Herbert r 
G W. Hewitt, Hooker. House, Hunton, J, G.Jones, 
Knott, Ligon, Mayham, McKcnzie, Mills, Mul- 
drow, Phelps, Pridemore, Reagan, Riddle, Rob- 
bins, Scales, Schleicher, O. R. Singleton, W. E. 
Smith, Steele, Throckmorton, Vance, Whitthorne, 
J. Williams, A, S. Willis, and Fates— 61. 



PART IV. 

The Democratic Record — 
So Called. 

A Beggarly Account of Small Donations 
-Impudent Claims set up to Republi- 
can Measures. 

The acts upon which the Democracy 
base their claim to the title of the " sol- 
diers' friend" are the following : 

On May 24, 1878, the House passed a 
bill to increase the pensions of pen- 
sioned soldiers and sailors, who had 
lost either both hands or both feet, or the 
sight of both eyes, in the service of the 
country. It provided that the pensions 
of sucli soldiers and sailors should be 
increased to $72 per month. 

This' bill which became an act June- 
17, 1878, and its supplement of March 3, 
1873, affected only those who were pre- 
viously entitled to $50 per month under 
the act of June 18, 1874, and probably 
embraced less than 200 pensioners. 

Another bill passed on May 24, 1873,. 
increased the pensions of ali soldiers 
who had suffered amputation of their 
leg at the hip Joint to $37.50 per month. 

This bill which became an act March 
3, 1879, increased less than 20 pensions, 
and they were before in receipt of $24 
per month. 

On May 23, 1878, Mr. Riddle, of Ten- 
nessee, reported a bill which amended the 
pension act of 1874 60 as to extend it& 
provisions to all persons who had 
lost an arm below the elbow, or sa 
near the elbow, or a leg below the knee, 
or so near the knee as to destroy the 
use of the elbow or the knee-joint, and 
rated such persons in the second class 
and to. receive a pension of $24 per 
month. 



PENSIONS AND BOUNTIES. 



177 



This bill, if it had become a law, 
would have affected but a few, probably 
not more than one hundred. Those 
who lost the arm above the elbow or the 
leg above the knee were already entitled 
to $24 per month, and the law was in- 
tended to benefit only those who had suf- 
fered amputation just at the elbow or 
knee, or so near as to destroy its use. 
As a matter of fact it was not rejected 
by the Senate, but was referred to its 
Committee on Pensions, which failed to 
report it to the Senate. 

The only provision which passed the 
House under Democratic control, ex- 
cept the Arrears Act, that would have 
affected any very large number of 
soldiers, was the bill to increase the 
pensions of those who had lost one 
limb. The increase proposed was 
twelve dollars per month, and it would 
have benefited about 4,000 pensioners. 

The only additional Democratic 
measure was that of February 28, 1877, 
"to allow a pension of $36 a month to 
soldiers who have lost both an arm and 
a leg." This benefited a number not 
exceeding two hundred pensioners. 

Democrats Re-enact an Existing: Pen- 
sion Law Passed by the Republicans— 
Beltzhoover and It you. Democratic 
Members of Mouse, Explain to their 
Constituents that Rebel Brigadiers 
are against Pensioning- Union Sol- 
diers. 

Another measure for which the Democ- 
racy claim credit was a bill reported in 
June, 1876, to regulate the issue of arti- 
ficial limbs. 

The first sectiou provided that every 
person who in the line of his duty in the 
military or naval service of the United 
States shall have lost a limb, or sus- 
tained bodily injuries, depriving him of 
the use of any of his limbs, shall receive 
once every five years an artificial limb 
or appliance, under such regulations as 
the surgeon-general of the army may 
prescribe ; and the period of five years 
shall be held to commence with the fil- 



tion of every five years thereafter an- 
other. Or if the soldier so elected he 
could receive money commutation there- 
for of from fifty to seventy-five dollars ; 
and the act of June 30, 1870, extended 
the provision to all classes, including 
transportation. Under these laws ad- 
vantageous arrangements were made 
witli manufacturers through whom limbs 
were procured at rates largely reduced 
from market prices. 

It will be observed that the act of Au- 
gust 15, 1876, was simply a re-enactment, 
with slight and unimportant changes, of 
previous enactments. 

The hostility, the implacable enmity 
of the Democracy to the Union soldier 
is not open to doubt. Nor can their as- 
surance or their impudent claims alter 
the fact. It is even demonstrated by 
the highest of Democratic testimony. 
Hon. F. E. Beltzhoover, the Democratic 
member of the House from the nineteenth 
district of Pennsylvania, in a letter to a 
constituent dated April 23, 1880, declines 
to introduce a pension bill, because "with 
the present Democratic House pension bills 
do not have much favor, * * * and the 
rebel aeneral who is at the head of the Pen- 
sion (jommiitee in the Senate is still more 
averse to allowing any such bills to pass." 
Hon. J. W. Ryon, another Democratic 
member from Pennsylvania, bears like 
testimony. He declares, in a letter (dated 
September, 1880), to a constituent, that 
" the present Mouse is averse to allowing 
claims for services rendered in support 
of the United States during the late war." 



PART V. 

Tlie Clerical Force in 
Pension Office. 



the 



The number of pension claims of all 

classes on the files of the Pension Office 

which had not received favorable action 

at the close of the fiscal years of 1880, 

ing of the application after the 17th day 1881, and 1882 were 346,323, 350,337, and 



of January, in the year 1870 

Now, the facts are that the practice of 
granting artificial limbs to soldiers and 
sailors who lost their natural limbs in 
the service has existed since the passage 
of the act of July 16, 1862; and on July 
28, 1866, Congress passed an act "to au- 
thorize the Secretary of War to furnish 
transportation to discharged soldiers to 
whom artificial limbs are furnished by 
the Government." 

On July 27, 1868, an act was passed ! 
placing officers upon the same footing | 
with privates as to artificial limbs. Oil 
July 17, 1870, another act was passed an 



360,231, respectively. 

The number of clerks employed in the 
Pension Office in 1881 was 454, and 572 
in 1882. The appropriation for these 
two years having been made by the 
Forty-sixth Congress, (Democratic.) 

It will be observed that the number 
of claims on tile continued to increase 
rather than diminish, as the number of 
new cases coming in exceeded those 
which could be settled. 

With the force employed in the Pen- 
sion office it usually required from two 
and one -half years to three years to 
reach a case in its order of filing before 



thorizing the War Department to furn- the first step was taken for its consid- 
ish a new limb or apparatus to all those ! eration, and then, owing to the many 
previously supplied, and at the expira- \ thousands on file, it would be from one 



178 



THE TARIFF. 



to three years before final action would 
fee had upon it. 

To remedy this the last Congress, (Re- 
publican,) on the 5th day of August, 
1882, passed an act providing for 1,559 
clerks in the Pension Office, so that the 
work of settling the claims for pensions 
might be expedited. 

With the slight increase of force for 
the year 1882 the allowance of original 
pension claims was about 20 per cent, 
greater than the average per year since 
1861. 

The total number of cases of all classes 



disposed of during the past year was 
59,190. 

Besides the large increased facilities 
referred to for reaching an early settle- 
ment of cases, the act of August 5, 1882, 
provided the means for the Commis- 
sioner of Pensions to detail special ex- 
aminers in the field, so that in the pro- 
curement of testimony very many cases 
will be susceptible or allowance which 
otherwise would be denied, owing to 
the inability of the claimants to obtain 
information of the whereabouts of wit- 
nesses. 



OHAPTEE XII. 



The Tariff, 



FART I. 

44 Encourage meiit and pro- 
tection" to American in- 
dustry the "True Amer- 
ican System" — Its Advo- 
cates Illustrious States- 
men of Practical Genius — 
Washington, Franklin, 
Hamilton, Calhoun, Clay, 
Andrew Jackson, Madi- 
son, Jno. <J. Adams, Web- 
ster, Garfield, Lincoln, 
and Grant. 

George Washington in his first mes- 
sage to Congress declared that : 

The safety and interest of the people require 
that they should promote such manufactures as 
tend to render them independent of others for es- 
sential, particularly for military, supplies. 

The preamble of the Seoond act of the 
First Congress, read: 

Whereas dt is neeessary for the support of the 
.government, for the discharge of the debt of the 
'United States, and (he encouragement and protection 
•<?/ manufacturers, that duties be levied on goods, 
wares, and merchandise imported. 

In his second message to Congress, 
'George Washington said : 

Congress has repeatedly, and not without suc- 
•cess, -directed their attention to the encourage- 
ment of munufactures. The object is of too much 
^consequence not to insure a continuance of their 
.efforts in every way which shall appear eligible. 

Benjamin Franklin, in 1771, said : 

It seems the interest of all our farmers and own- 
ers of land to encourage our young manufactures 
in preference to foreign ones imported among us 
from distant countries. 



Alexander Hamilton, in 1790, in his 
celebrated Report on Manufactures, 
urged : 

Not only the wealth but the independence and 
security of a country appear to be materially con- 
nected with the prosperity of manufactures. 
Every nation, with a view to these great objects, 
ought to endeavor to possess within itself all the 
essentials of national supply. These comprise the 
me.sns of subsistence, habitation, clothing, and 
defense. The possession of these is necessary to 
the perfection of the body- politic, to the safety as 
well as the welfare of society. The want of either 
is the want of an important organ of political life 
and motion; and in the various crises which 
await a State it must severely feel the effects of any 
such deficiency. The extreme embarrassments of 
the United StaStes during the late [Revolutionary] 
war, from i.n Mcapacity of supplying themselves, 
are still matters of keen recollection. A future 
war might be expected again to exemplify the 
mischiefs and dangers of a situation to which that 
incapacity is still in too great a degree applicable, 
unless changed by timely and vigorous exertion. 
To effect this change as fast as shall be prudent 
merits all the attention and all the zeal of our 
public councils. It is the next great work .to be 
accomplished. 

Jno. C. Calhoun, in 1816, urged: 

It [the encouragement of manufactures] pro- 
duced a system strictly American, as much so as 
agriculture, in which it had the decided advan- 
tage of commerce and navigation. The country 
will from this derive much advantage. Again, it 
is calculated to bind together more closely our 
widespread republic. It will greatly increase our 
mutual dependence and intercourse, and will as a 
necessary consequence excite an increased atten- 
tion to internal improvements— a subject every 
way so intimately connected with the ultimate 
attainment of national strength and the perfection 
of our political institutions. He regarded the fact 
that it would make the parts adhere more closely; 
that it would form a new and most powerful 
cement, far outweighing any political objections 
that mis?ht be urged against the system. In his 
opinion the liberty and the union of the country 
were inseparably united; that as the destruction 
of the latter would most certainly involve the 
former, so its maintenance will with equal cer- 
tainty preserve it. 

Henry Clay, in 1824, in the course of 
one or! his great speeches, said : 

It is most desirable that there should be both a 
home and a foreign market. But with respect to 



THE TARIFF. 



179 



their relative superiority I cannot entertain a 
doubt. The home market is first in order and par- 
amount in importance. * * * But this home 
market, desirable as it is. can only be created and 
cherished by the protection of our own legislation 
against the inevitable prostration of our industry, 
which must ensue from the action of foreign pelicy 
and legislation. * * * If I am asked why un- 
protected industry should not succeed in a strug- 
gle with protected industry, I answer: The fact 
has ever been se, and that is sufficient ; I reply, the 
uniform experience evinces that ifr cannot succeed 
in such a struggle, and that is sufficient. If we spec- 
ulate on the causes of this universal truth, we may 
differ about them. Still the indisputable fact re- 
mains. * * * The cause is the cause of the 
country, and it must and will prevail. It is 
founded on the interests and affections of the peo- 
ple. It is as native as the granite deeply embos- 
omed in our mountains. 

General Andrew Jackson, in 1824, 
wrote : 

It is time that we should become a little more 
Americanized, and, instead of feeding the pau- 
per* and laborers of England, feed our own. 

James Madison, in 1828, said : 

A further evidence in support of the constitu- 
tional power to protect and foster manufactures 
by regulations of trade— an evidence that ought 
in itself to settle the question— is the uniform and 
practical sanction given in that jower, for nearly 
forty years, with a concurrence or acquiesence of 
every State government throughout the 6ame pe- 
riod, and, it may be added, through all the vicis- 
situdes or party which marked thf.t period. 

Mr. Jno. Q. Adams, in 1832, in a report 
from the Committee on Manufactures, 
said : 

And thus the very first act of the organized Con- 
gress united with the law of self-preservation, by 
the support of the government just instituted, the 
two objects combined in the fin>t grant of power to 
Congress; the payment of the public debts and 
the provision for the common defense by the pro- 
tection of manufacture*. The next act was pre- 
cisely of the same character— an act of protection 
to manufactures still more than of taxation for 
revenue. 

Daniel Webster, in 1833, said : 

The protection of American labor against the 
injurious competition of foreign labor, so far, at 
least, as respects general handicraft productions, 
is known historically to have been one end de- 
signed to be obtained by establishing the Consti- 
tution ; and this object, and the constitutional 
power to accomplish it, ought never to be surren- 
dered or compromised in any degree, 

Abraham Lincoln, in 1832, said : 

I am favor of the internal improvement system 
and a high protective tariff. 

General Garfield, in House of Repre- 
sentatives, June, 1878, declared : 

So important, in my view, is the ability of the 
Nation to manufacture all those articles neces- 
sary to arm, equip, and clothe our people that if 
it could not be secured in any other way I would 
vote to pay mon y out of the Federal Treasury to 
maintain government iron and steel, woolen and 
cotton mills, at whatever cost. Were we to ne- 
glect these great interests and depend upon other 
nations in what a condition of helplessness would 
we find ourselves when we should be again in- 
volved in war with the very nations on whom we 
were depending to furnish us these supplies? The 
system adopted by our fathers is wiser, for it so 
encourages the great National industries as to 



make it possible at all times for our people to 
equip themselves for war, and at the same time 
Increase their intelligence and skill, so as to make 
them better fitted for all the duties of citizenship, 
both in war and in peace. We provide for the 
common defense by a system which promotes the 
general welfare. 

President Grant, in three compact sen- 
tences, in defining the wants of the 
country, said : 

A duty upon those articles which we could dis- 
pense with, known as luxuries, axd those of 
which we use more than we produce. 

All duty removed from tea, coffee, and other 
articles of universal use not produced by our- 
selves. 

Encouragement to home products, employment 
to labor at living wages, and development of 
home resources. 



PART IL 

Protection to American In- 
dustry the Cause Under- 
lying the Struggle in 1776 
for American Independ- 
ence. 

Resistance of our Colonial Fathers to 
Tyranny of British Trader— Colonial 
Manufactures declared a Nuisance 
by Act of Parliaments— The Colonists 
revolt and achieve their Indepen- 
dence. 

The primary and Drincipal causes un- 
derlying the American ^Revolution of 
1776 sprung from the conflict between 
our colonial ancestors, in support of 
native industry, and the British Trader, 
backed by all the authority and power 
of the Crown and Parliament,inhis efforts 
to destroy all manufacturing industry 
in the colonies, and make the colonists 
dependent upon England for their sup- 

?lies. Colonial manufactures, by act of 
'arliament, were even declared a nuis- 
ance. Our fathers revolted. They con- 
quered their independence, and in 1783 
entered the community of nations as a 
sovereign power. 



PART III. 

Protection under the Con- 
federation. 

The failure of Government of Confeder- 
ation to Encourage and Protect Man- 
ufactures the cause of its Abolition. 

The Confederation failed in all the 
essential particulars of government. It 
utterly failed to secure to the "infant 
industries" of America, to the domestic 
manufactures of the new States, that 
encouragement and protection to secure 



180 



THE TARIFF. 



which, in their recent unequal conflict 
with the formidable power of Britain, 
they had staked their "lives and for- 
tunes and sacred honor." Hence it was 
soon pronounced an injurious abortion, 
and the people resolved to abolish it — 
to create and substitute for it a new and 
more vigorous government, with ample 
powers to secure those objects and to 
execute all its delegated trusts. 



PART IV. 

Protection under the Gov- 
ernment of the Constitu- 
tion. 

Our Workingment Advocated and Cel- 
ebrated the Adoption of the Consti- 
tution. 

Thus, in 1789, the government of the 
old Confederation was supplanted by our 
present National Government through 
the adoption of our National Constitu- 
tion. The union or organization of the 
States as one nation, under a govern- 
ment with ample powers to protect 
them in their industrial pursuits, had 
no more earnest, no more enthusiastic 
or active supporters, than the mechanics 
and laboring men. They celebrated its 
adoption amid the heartiest rejoicing. 

The second act oi our 1st Congress under 
the Constitution an Aet for "the En- 
couragement and Protection of Man- 
ufactures. " 

The First Congress under our National 
Constitution organized April 6, 1789. 
On April 8, within seventy hours after 
its organization, James Madison, in the 
House, introduced a resolution declaring 
that "duties ought to be levied on 
goods, wares, and merchandise import- 
ed into the United States." The Con- 
fcess agreed with Mr. Madison. This 
irst Congress, in both Houses of which 
were many who had been members of 
the convention that framed the Consti- 
tution, adopted "An act laying a duty 
on goods, wares, and merchandise im- 
ported into the United States." It was 
our first tariff act. It was the first meas- 
ure of our National Government, the 
second law enacted by Congress under 
our present Constitution, and was ap- 
proved by George Washington as Presi- 
dent on July 4, 1789. The imposts which 
it levied were both specific and ad val- 
orem, and its preamble distinctly de- 
clared that those imposts were "neces- 
sary" among other things "for the en- 
couragement and protection of manu- 
factures." 

Domestic enterprises, native interests, 
exercised all the solicitude and care of 



this Congress. At its second session it 
enacted the tariff of August 10, 1790, by 
which the duties of the previous act 
were on an average increased 2£ per 
cent., and at both sessions, following the 
example of England and other powers, 
established a system of navigation laws, 
through which heavy discriminating 
tonnage duties were exacted for the en- 
couragement and protection of our na- 
tive shipping and trade. 

Protective Tariffs ol 1789 and 1790 
Passed by Southern Votes. 

The following in an analysis of the 
vote in the House upon the tariff of 
1790, which confirmed, and under the 
recommendations of Alexander Hamil- 
ton, as Secretary of the Treasury, in- 
creased some of the rates of the act of 
1789: 

Ayes— Messrs. Ashe, Baldwin, Bloodworth, 
Brown, Burke, Cadwalader, Carroll, Clymer, Coles, 
Conter, Fitzsimmons, Floyd, Gilmer, Hartley. 
Heister, Huntington, Jackson, Livermore, Law- 
rence, Madison, Matthews, Moore, Muhlenberg, 
Page, Parker, Rensselaer, Scott, Seney, Sevier, 
Sherman. Sylvester, Sinnickson, Steele, Sturgis, 
Sumter.Vining, White, Williamson, and Wynkoop— 
39. 

Nays— Messrs. Ames, Benson, Foster, Gale, Gerry, 
Goodhue, Grout, Sedgwick, Smith of Maryland, 
Smith of South Carolina, Thatcher, Trumbull, and 
Wadsworth— 13. 

In all 52 votes, 21 of which voting "aye" 
were from Southern or slave-holding 
States. The following is an analysis by 
States : 

New England States : For— New Hampshire, 2 
Massachusetts, ; Connecticut, 2 ; total, 5. Against 
— New Hampshire, 1 ; Massachusetts, 6; Connecti- 
cut, 2; total, 9. 

Middle States: For— New York, 4; New Jersey, 
2; Pennsylvania, 7 ; total, 13. Against— New York, 
1; New Jersey, 0; Pennsylvania, ; t<)tal, 1. 

Slave States: For— Delaware, 1; Maryland, 3; 
Virginia, 7; North Carolina, 5; South Carolina, 2! 
Georgia, 3; total. 21. Against— Delaware, 0; Mary- 
land, 2; Virginia, 0; North Carolina, 0; South 
Carolina, 1 ; Georgia, ; total, 3. 

Recapitulation: For— New England States, 5; 
Middle States, 13; Southern States, 21; total, 39. 
Against— New England States, 9; Middle States, 1; 
Southern States, 3; total, 13. 



PART V. 

American Manufactures 
from 1795 to Peace of 
1815. 

Revival of snr Industries from the 
Disastrous Results of our Commercial 
Craze from 1793 to 1807— House in 1809 
orders the Reprinting- of Ham- 
ilton's Report on Manufactures— In- 
structions of Congress to Marshals of 
Census of 1810 respecting Manufac- 
turing; Statistics— Tench Coxe's Esti- 
mate of value of Manufactures in 1810 
—Country flooded in 1815 with foreign 



THE TARIFF. 



181 



goods— Object of British Trader in 
getting onr markets was to destroy 
American Industry— Onr people pe- 
titioned Congress for Protection 
against the Ruin thus Menaced. 

From 1793 to 1807, the memorable 

Eeriod of our commercial craze, very 
ttle attention' was bestowed by our 
people upon manufactures. But, with 
the disastrous collapse of our commer- 
cial ventures, manufacturing enterprises 
again occupied our capitalists. In 
1809 the House ordered the reprinting of 
Hamilton's celebrated report on manu- 
factures. It also directed Mr. Gallatin, 
the Secretary of the Treasury, to collect 
information respecting the various man- 
ufactures of the United States, and re- 
port the same, "together with a plan 
best calculated to protect and promote 
them." The marshals and their assist- 
ants in taking the census of 1810 were 
also instructed to obtain full and relia- 
ble information respecting our manu- 
facturing establishments and manufac- 
tures. The information or data thus 
obtained was meager and defective. An 
analysis or digest of the manufacturing 
returns and an estimate of the value of 
manufactures were made under the di- 
rection of the Treasury by Mr. Tench 
Coxe, a distinguished statistician of 
Philadelphia. It was ascertained that 
few woolen manufactories existed in the 
United States, but that the woolen and 
cotton manufactures consumed in the 
country were principally the products 
of looms in families, and their estimated 
value was about $40,000,000. The value 
of the manufactures of iron was report- 
ed at $14,364,526; of the products of the 
tannery at $17,935,477; of those from 
grain at $16,528,207; of those of wood at 
$5,554,708; of the manufacture of refin- 
ed sugar at $1,415,724; of paper, etc., at 
$1,939,285; of glass at $1,047,004; of to- 
bacco at $1,260,378; of cables and cord- 
age at $4,242,168, &c. The aggregate 
value of manufactures of all kinds was 
returned at $127,694,602. By a previous 
estimate of Mr. Gallatin the value was 
fixed at $120,000,000. 

That was not a very flattering exhib- 
it. But the embargo and non -inter- 
course acts, the retaliatory measures 
adopted by our Government in 1807 and 
1808 against the tyrannical restrictive de- 
crees of England and France, followed 
as they were by our war of 1812-15 with 
Britain, practically excluded from the 
country all foreign imports, and by 
throwing our people upon their own re- 
sources to supply the domestic demand, 
particularly for manufactures of wool, 
cotton and hemp, greatly increased and 
encouraged the home manufacture of 
those materials. Nevertheless, the close 
of the war in 1815 found them in swad- 
dling-clothes. The high price of labor in 
the United States, and the long experi- 



ence and superior skill of the British es- 
tablishment?, rendered it impracticable 
for the domestic manufactures to sustain 
themselves without protection against 
the foreign article. That the British 
trader well knew. He accordingly de- 
termined to crush out the manufactures 
of the United States in their infant 
state, even at a heavy sacrifice to himself 
in profit. Our markets, therefore, were 
soon glutted with foreign products of 
all kinds. Thus the value of our im- 
ports, which from January 1 to Septem- 
ber 30, 1815, was only $83,080,073, sud- 
denly increased during the following 
year, from October, 1815, to October, 
1816, to the vast sum of $155,302,700. In 
the House of Commons, Mr. Brougham, 
with manifest satisfaction and in plain 
language, announced the policy and the 
purposes of the British trader. He urg- 
ed: 

It is well worth while to incur a loss upon the 
first importation, in order by the glut to stifle 
in the cradle those rising manufactures in the 
United States which the war had forced into 
existence contrary to the natural course of 
things. 

Our citizens throughout the country 
engaged in manufactures, including the 
sugar-planters of Louisiana, prayed 
Congress for protection against the ruin 
thus menaced, and for encouragement 
and support to the "growing manufac- 
tures" of the nation. Congress re- 
sponded by promptly affording the 
protection prayed for. 



PART VI. 
Tariff of 1816. 

Mr. Lowndes, of S. C, reports Tariff 
of 1816 from the Committee of Ways 
and Means— Debate on Bill— Clay and 
Calhonn and Lowndes, and others 
support the Bill— a Tariff for Protec- 
tion. 

On March *l2, 1816, Hon. William 
Lowndes, a member of the House from 
South Carolina, distinguished alike for 
ability and patriotism, reported from the 
Committee on Ways and Means the 
tariff act of 1816— a bill " to regulate the 
duties on imports and tonnage." Hon. 
Thomas Newton, of Virginia, on Febru- 
ary 13 and March 6, from the Committee 
on Manufactures, had reported in favor 
of encouraging and protecting the manu- 
factures of wool and cotton, and in the 
debate upon Mr. Lowndes's bill, Henry 
Clay, of Kentucky, John C. Calhoun, 
and Lowndes, of South Carolina, Ing- 
ham, of Pennsylviana, and others, ably 
contended for a "decided protection to 
home manufactures by ample duties." 
The celebrated John Randolph, of Ro- 
anoke, opposed the bill. Mr. Randolph 



182 



THE TARIFF. 



was a strict constructionist. He be- 
lieved and urged that a " tariff for pro- 
tection," the levying of imposts for the 
encouragement and support of manu- 
factures, was as unconstitutional as it 
was unjust — a "levying of taxes on one 
portion of the community to put money 
into the pockets of another." 

In that, Mr. Randolph was antag- 
onized among others by Mr. Calhoun in 
an argument in which he in substance 
reiterates and supports the views of 
Alexander Hamilton's report of 1791 on 
Manufactures. 

John €. Calhoun favors the Encourage - 
ment and Protection of Manufactur es 
—He was not personally interested in 
manufactures— He was from South Car- 
olina—He regarded Protection as of 
Vital Importance to the Prosperity of 
the Nation, and its Safety in War — 
All Nations should be Independent for 
its Supplies— Protection produced a 
System strictly American— Its Ad- 
vantages over Commerce — It caused 
increased attention to Internal Im- 
provements—It binds together the 
Sections— liberty and the Union In- 
separately United— Warns the House 
and Country of "a new and terrible 
Danger"— Disunion. 

Mr. Calhoun favors the encourage- 
ment and protection of our home in- 
dustries. He regards the subject as one 
of " vital importance," " touching as it 
does the security and permanent pros- 
perity of our country." He was no 
manufacturer. He was not from that 
portion of our country supposed to be 
peculiarly interested. He "was from 
the South" — from South Carolina. "Con- 
sequently no motives could be attribu- 
ted to him but such as were disinter- 
ested." 

"The security of a country mainly 
depends on its spirit and means." 
Hence " as every people are subject to 
the vicissitudes of peace and war, it 
must ever be considered as the plain 
dictate of wisdom in peace to prepare 
for war." He then reviews the resour- 
ces of the country, discusses the rela- 
tive importance of agriculture, com- 
merce, and manufactures as a source of 
national wealth and power, demon- 
strates the superiority of manufactures, 
because agriculture and commerce,being 
dependent on foreign markets, only 
flourish in times of peace, but manufac- 
tures, relying on our home market, is 
unaffected by war and is always a source 
of wealth and power. He urges — 

What, then, are the effects of a war with a mar- 
itime power— with England? Our commerce anni- 
hilated, spreading individual misery and produc- 
ing national poverty ; our agriculture cut off from 
its accustomed markets, the surplus product of the 
farmer perishes upon his hands, and he ceases to 
produce because he cannot selL His resources are 



dried up, while his expenses are greatly increased, 
as all manufactured articles, the necessaries as 
well as the conveniences of life, rise to an extrav- 
agant price. * * * The failure of the wealth 
and resources of the nationnecessarily involves the 
ruin of its finances and its currency. It is admitted 
by the most strenuous advocates on the other side 
j that no country ought to be dependent on another 
for its means of defense ; that at least our musket 
and bayonet, our cannon and ball, ought to be of 
domestic manufacture. But what was more nec- 
essary to the defense of a country than its currency 
and finance ? Circumstanced as our country is, 
can these stand the shock of war? Behold the 
effect of the late war upon them ! When our man- 
ufactures are grown to a certain perfection, as 
they soon will under the fostering care of govern- 
ment, we will no longer experience these evils. 
The farmer will find a ready market for his sur- 
plus produce, and, what is almost of equal conse- 
quence, a certain and cheap supply of all his 
wants. His prosperity will diffuse itself to every 
class in the community ; and instead of that lan- 
guor of industry and individual distress now in- 
cident to a state of war and suspended commerce, 
the wealth and vigor of the community will not 
be materially impaired. The arm of government 
will be nerved, and taxes in the hour of danger, 
when essential to the independence of the nation, 
may be greatly increased; loans, so uncertain and 
hazardous, may be less relied on. Thus sitiiated, 
the storm may beat without, but within all will be 
quiet and safe. To give perfection to this state of 
things it will be necessary to add, as soon as pos- 
sible, a svstem of internal improvements, and at 
least such an extension of our Navy as will prevent 
the cutting off of our coasting trade. 

Mr. Caihoun next reviews at some 
length, and rebuts, one by one, the argu- 
ments urged against manufactures as a 
system ; maintains with great force the 
policy of finding profitable investment 
of our capital and remunerative employ- 
ment for our mechanics by multiplying 
and protecting manufactures as perma- 
nent establishments ; and with some in- 
dignation refutes and repels the charges 
which, even in that day, were stale and 
flat, that manufacturing establishments 
" destroy the moral and physical power 
of the people;" that they were " the 
fruitful cause of pauperism," and pro- 
duced a slavish dependence of the 
operative upon the manufacturer. He 
exclaimed : 

It [the encouragement of manufactures] pro- 
duced a system strictly American, as much so as 
agriculture, in which it had the decided advan- 
tage of commerce aud navigation. The country 
will from this derive much advantage. Again, it 
is calculated to bind together more closely our 
widespread republic. It will greatly increase our 
mutual dependence and intercourse, and will as 
a necessary consequence excite an increased at- 
tention to internal improvements— a subject every 
way so intimately connected with the ultimate 
attainment of national strength and the perfection 
of our political institutions. He regarded the fact 
that it would make the parts adhere more closely; 
that it would form a new and most powerful ce- 
ment far outweighing any political objections that 
might be urged against the system. In his opinion 
the liberty and the union of the country were in- 
separably united; that, as the destruction of the 
latier would most certainly involve the former, so 
its maintenance will with equal certainty pre- 
serve it. 

Nor did he " speak lightly." Mr. Cal- 
houn assures the House that " he had 
often and long revolved it in his mind;" 
that he " had critically examined into 



THE TARIFF. 



183 



the causes that destroyed the liberties 
of other countries," and closes with a 
solemn warning to the nation of a "new 
and terrible danger" which threatened 
it — "disunion." 

Tariff Act of April 27, 1816, passed by 
Southern Votes. 

This powerful and patriotic argument 
was delivered in the House on April 4, 
1816. It had a commanding effect. A 
few days later, on the 8th, the tariff act 
of April, 1816, largely extending and in- 
creasing the specific duties on foreign 
goods and adopting the minimum prin- 
ciple of valuation in estimating imposts, 
for the encouragement and protection 
of manufactures, passed the House by a 
vote of yeas 88, nays 54. It was passed 
by Southern votes. Among those vot- 
ing in the affirmative are such distin- 
guished Southernnames as Cuthbertand 
Lumpkins of Georgia, Desha and Rich- 
ard M. Johnson of Kentucky, Philip p 
Barbour, Thomas Newton, and Henry 
St. George Tucker of Virginia, Mayrant, 
Woodward, Lowndes, and Calhoun of 
South Carolina. 

Tote on its Passage. 

YEAfi— Messrs. Adgate, Alexander, Archer, Ather- 
ton, Baker, Barbour, Bassett, Bateman, Baylies 
Bennett, Betts, Birdsall, Boss, Brooks, Brown' 
Cady, Caldwell, Calhoun, Cannon, Chjpman, Clen- 
dennm, Comstoek, Crawford, Creighton, Cro- 
cheron, Cuthbert, Darlington, Davenport, Desha, 
Glasgow, Gold, Grosvenir, Sahn, HaU, Hammond 
Hawes, Henderson, Hopkinson, Ingham, Irvin of 
Pennsylvania, Jewett, Johnson of Kentucky, Kent 
Langdom, Lowndes, Lumpkin, Lyle, Maclay, 
Marsh, Mason, Mayrant, McCoy, McLean of Ken- 
tucky, MilnoT, Newton,Noyes,drmsby, Parris, Piper 
Pitkin, Pleasants, Powell, Rug-les, Sergeant, Sav- 
age, Schenck, Sharpe, Smith of Pennsylvania, 
Smith of Maryland, Southard, Strong, T.iggart 
Taul, Throop, Townsend, Tucker, Wallace, Ward of 
New York, Ward of New Jersey, Wendover, Whea- 
ton, Whiteside, Wilkin, Willoughby, Thomas Wil- 
son, William Wilson, Woodward, and Yates— 88. 

Nays, 54— total, 142. 

Of the 88 yeas, 25 in italics are of men 
from the South. If those twenty-five 
had voted nay, the result would have 
been— yeas 63, nays 79— thus defeating 
protection. As it was, these Southern 
votes decided the House in favor of 
protection to manufactures. 

Our Protective System Practically Es- 
tablished by the Act of 1816. 

Here in the principles and provisions 
of this act of April, 1816, we have the 
practical foundation of the American 
policy of encouragement of home manu- 
factures, the practical establishment of 
the great industrial system upon which 
rests our present national wealth and 
power and the prosperity and happiness 
of our whole people ! Here, in this act, 
supported by Henry Clay, by Henry St. 
George Tucker, and by Lowndes and 
John C. Calhoun! Here, in this tariff 
act passed by Southern votes, by the 



votes of men at the time national and 
patriotic in their purposes and views, by 
leading spirits of the South against the 
vigorous protest and the votes of New 
England ! 

1 hat, in the present attitude of par- 
ties, is an important fact. 



PART VTL 

Subsequent Tariffs 
1816 to 1842. 



from 



Tariffs of 1824 and 1828 preserve and 
Strengthen the Protective Principle 
—Nullifiers— Agitation of South Caro- 
lina and other Southern States alarm 
friends of protection— They believe 
Protective Principle in Danger— Mr. 
Clay Introduces and Passes Compro- 
mise Tariff* of March 2, 1833, with the 
object of preserving the Protective 
Principle. 

The great tariff acts of 1834 and 1828 
only increased and extended and 
strengthened the provisions of the act 
of 1816 while preserving its principle in 
support of its beneficent national pur- 
poses—the encouragement of a system 
of home industries under the protection 
of the nation. 

The tariff act of March 2, 1833, com- 
monly known as the compromise tariff, 
provided for a biennial reduction of 
duties on all foreign imports which shall 
exceed 20 per cent, on the value thereof 
of one-tenth of such excess up to 31st 
December, 1842, when the residue of 
such excess should be deducted. This 
was the principal stipulation of the act. 
Among other provisions it contained 
that of a home valuation in assessing 
duties— a provision peculiarly odious 
to Mr. Calhoun and his nullifying ad- 
herents. 

The passage of the tariff act of 1828 
was peculiarly odious to South Carolina 
and other States South, which kept 
up an unceasing agitation against it, 
threatening nullification and even civil 
war if it was not repealed. This 
threatening attitude of South Carolina 
unduly alarmed some of the friends of 
protection. It led to the passage of the 
tariff act of March 2, 1833. Henry Clay, 
the author of the act, believing tlie prin- 
ciple of protection in peril, introduced 
the compromise act as a means of pre- 
serving that principle. In the Senate, 
in the debate upon this bill, Mr. Clay 
urged: "The main object of the bill is 
not revenue, but protection." In reply 
to Senators who maintained that the 
bill abandoned the protective principle, 
Mr. Clay declared that "the language 
of the bill authorized no such construc- 
tion, and that no one would be justified 



184 



THE TARIFF. 



in inferring that there was to be an 
abandonment of the system of protec- 
tion." Mr. John M. Clayton, of Dela- 
ware, a staunch protectionist and sup- 
porter of the bill, said : 

The government cannot "be kept together, if 
the principle of protection "were to he discarded 
in our policy, and declared that he would pause 
hefore he surrendered that principle even to 
save the union. 

And Mr. Clay added : 

The hill assumes, as a hasis, adequate prot- 
tection for nine years and less heyond that 
term. The friends of protection say to their op- 
ponents, we are "willing to take a lease of nine 
years, with the long chapter of accidents be- 
yond that period, including the chance of war, 
the restoration of concord, and along with it a 
conviction common to all of the utility of pro- 
tection, and in consideration of it, if, in 1842, 
none of these contingencies shall have heen real- 
ized, we are willing to suhmit as long as Con- 
gress may think proper, with the maximum of 
20 per cent. 

This was the origin and the avowed 
purpose of the supporters of the act — to 
preserve the protective principle, be- 
lieved at the moment to be in danger. 



PART Yin. 
Tariff of 1840. 

Disastrous Effects of Compromise Tariff 
of 1833— All Industries Ruined— Star v- 
ing Working-men and their Families- 
Farmers Without Markets— Their 
Lands, Teeming with Rich Harvests, 
Sold by the Sheriff for Debts and 
Taxes— The Figures and Facts— Tariff 
of 1842 Restores Prosperity. 

The effects of the compromise tariff of 
1833, combined with those of President 
Jackson's war upon the established fin- 
ancial system of the Government, were 
very disastrous. In 1840 all prices had 
ruinously fallen ; production had greatly 
diminished, and in many departments 
of industry had practically ceased; 
thousands of workingmen were idle, 
with no hope of employment, and their 
families suffering from want. Our farm- 
ers were without markets. Their pro- 
ducts rotted in their barns, and their 
lands, teeming with rich harvests, were 
sold by the sheriff for debts and taxes. 
The tariff which robbed our industries 
of protection failed to supply Govern- 
ment with its necessary revenues. The 
national treasury in consequence was 
bankrupt, and the credit of the nation 
had sunk very low. 

Mr. Calvin Colton, in his "Life of 
Henry Clay," describes, from the news- 
papers of the times, the ruinous condi- 
tion of all our industries, in 1840, re- 
sulting from the combined influences 



of the compromise tariff and Jackson's 
and Van Buren's financial measures. 
Mr. Colton says: 

Mr. Clay states that tlie average depression in 
in the value of property under that state of 
things which existed before the tariff of 1824 
came to the rescue of the country, at fifty per 
cent. The revulsion of 1837 produced a far 
greater havoc than was experienced in the 
period above mentioned. The ruin came quick 
and fearful. There were few that could save 
themselves. Property of every description was 
parted with at sacrifices that were astounding, 
and as for the currency, there was scarcely any 
at all. In some parts of the interior of Pennsyl- 
vania, the people were obliged to divide bant 
notes into halves, quarters, eights, and so on, 
and agree from necessity to use them as money. 

In Onio, with all her abundance, it was hard 
to get money to pay taxes. 

The sheriff of Muskingum County, as stated 
by the Guernsey Times, in the summer of 1842, 
sold at auction one four-horse wagon, at $5.50; 10 
hogs at 6£ cents each ; 2 horses (said to be worth 
from $50 to $75 each) at $2 each ; two cows at $1 
each ; a barrel of sugar for $1.50 ; and a "store of 
goods" at that rate. 

In Pike County, Mo., as stated by the Hanni- 
bal Journal, the sheriff sold 3 horses at $1.50 
each ; one large ox at 12£ cents ; 5 cows, 2 steers, 
and l calf, the lot at $3.25 ; 20 sheep at 13| cents 
each ; 24 hogs, the lot at 25 cents ; 1 eight-day 
clock, at $2.50; lot of tobacco, 7 or 8 hogsheads, 
at $5 ; 3 stacks of hay, each, at 25 cents ; and i 
stack of fodder, at 25 cents.— [Vol. I, pp. 65, 66. J 

The United States Almanac estimated 
the losses, in four years from 1837, on 
five descriptions of capital alone, at 
$782,000,000. In a series of letters to the 
people of the United States by Concivis, 
published in New York in 1840, it was 
estimated that the losses from the same 
causes on wool, ($20,000,000;) cotton, 
($130,000,000,) and grain, ($150,000,000,) 
was $300,000,000! and shows that manu- 
factures, lands, and every species of 
property and labor were affected to a like 
ruinous extent. 

In the Presidential campaign of 1840 
the Whigs, therefore, made the tariff a 
principal issue. One of their rallying 
cries was: " Two dollars a day and 
roast beef." The Democracy was badly 
beateu, and the Whigs, on August 30, 
1842, passed a tariff which yielded pro- 
tection to our nearly ruined industries, 
and rapidly worked a restoration of the 
prosperity of the nation through a re- 
vival of its industries and trade. 



PART IX. 
Tariff" of 1846. 

Democratic Tariff Fraud in Pennsyl- 
vania in Presidential Election of 
1844— James K. Polk, a Free Trader, 
Proclaimed as a Better Tariff Man 
than Henry Clay — Clay Denounced as 
having- Abandoned Protection in the 
Compromise Tariff of 1 833— Letters of 
James K. Polk and Judge McCand- 
less, of Pennsylvania— Success of the 



THE TARIFF. 



185 



Fraud in the Election of Polk— Rob- 
ert J. Walker Secretary of the Trea- 
sury— Passage of TarifT of 184G. 

In tlie Presidential campaign of 1844 
Henry Clay, of Kentucky, the great 
champion of Protection, was the Whig 
candidate for President: James K. Polk, 
of Tennessee, was the Democratic can- 
didate. The electoral vote of the great 
tariff State of Pennsylvania was neces- 
sary to Polk's success, but he was on 
record against protection. In the public 
mind he was believed to be a free trader. 
The Whigs so charged, and with great 
force, as Polk was supported by the free- 
trade South, and by every free-trader in 
the country. The situation was a diffi- 
cult one for any but Democratic reform. 
In Pennsylvania Mr. Polk, by the Dem- 
ocratic orators and press, was boldly 
urged as a better tariff man than Mr. 
Clay. He was a protectionist, and Clay 
was denounced as having betrayed pro- 
tection by the compromise act of 1833. 
The following letter from Mr. Polk was 
circulated : 

Columbia. Tenn., June 19, 1844. 

Dear Sir : I have recently received several let- 
tersin reference to my opinionson the subject of the 
tariff, and, among others, yours of the 30ih ultimo. 
My opinions on tiiis subject have been often given 
to the public. They are to be found in my public 
acts, and in the public discussions in wnir-h I 
have participated. I am in favor of a tariff for 
revenue— such a one as will yield a sufficient 
amount to the Treasury to defray the expenses of 
the government, economically administered. In 
adjusting the d -tails of a revenue tariff, I have 
heretofore sanctioned such moderate discrimi- 
nating duties as woul 1 produce the amount of 
revenue needed, and at the same time afford 
reasonable incidental protection to our home in- 
dustry. I am opposed to a tariff f.r protection 
merely, and not f.r revenue. Acting upon these 
general principles, it is well known that I gave 
my support to t:ie policy of General Jackson's ad- 
ministration on this subject. I voted again t the 
tariff act of 1S23. I voted for the act of 1832, which 
contained modifications of some of the objection- 
able provisions of the act of 1828. 

As a member of the Committee of Ways and 
Means of the House of Representatives, I gave 
my assent to a bill reported by that committee in 
December, 1832, making further modifications of 
the act of 1828, and making also discriminations 
In the imposition of the duties which it proposed. 

That bill did not p )S<, but was superceded by a 
bill commonly called tbe compromise bill, for 
which I voted. In my judgment it is the duty of 
the government to extend, as far as it may be 
practicable to do so, by its revenue laws aud all 
other means within its "power, fair ana just pro- 
tection to all the great iuterests of the whole Union, 
gmbracing agriculture, manufactures, the me- 
chanic arts, commerce, and navigation. I heartily 
approve the resolutions upon this subject passed 
by the Democratic National Convention lately as- 
sembled at Baltimore. 

I am, with great respect, dear sir, your obedient 
servant, 

JAMES K. POLK. 

J. K. Kane, Esq., Philadelphia. 

And a little later Polk's letter was re- 
enforced by the following from Judge 
McCandless, an important and influen- 
tial Democratic leader of the State : 

Pittsburg, August 8, 1844. 
Gentlemen : Your cordial invitation of the 30th 
ultimo to be present with you at y«-ur mass-meet- 



ing on the 31 of September came to hand during 
my absence in the northwestern counties of Penn- 
sylvania. 

I assure you that I never wrote an apology for 
my inability to attend any public assemblage in 
the whole course of my political career with more 
reluctance than I do this. Clarion has not only 
been firm and steadf ist in her adherence to Dem- 
ocratic principles, but she has been inflexible in 
her love and support of the tariff— that public 
measure which (aside fr >m the bmk question), 
like the rod of the i'rophet, is destined to swallow 
ur> all other topics of political controversy. You 
have properly appreciated the importance of the 
protective principle to the success of the manufac- 
turing and agricultural interests of Pennsylvania, 
and in the abandonment of that principle by Mr. 
Clay, in the compromise bill, you have the best 
guaranty that, if elected to the Presidency, he will 
carry out the principles of that bill, and afford 
you a horiz >ntal duty, to enable you to contend 
with the pauper lab jr of Sweden and Russia. In 
doing so, he would give you and the tariff the 
same support that the rope does the hanging man — 
instant death, and without "benefit of clergy." 
Support him, if you can; for my own part, I shall 
go for Polk and Dallas, who have at heart tbe true 
interests of Pennsylvania. 

My engagements, geutlemen, in the supreme 
court, wll prevent me from attending your mass- 
meeting. With the brightest prospect of Demo- 
cratic success— 20,000 majority— I have the honor 
to be, truly yours, 

WILSON McCANDLESS. 
Messrs. Adam Mooney, Seth Clovek, and others, 

Committee. 

This fraud succeeded. James K. Polk 
was elected. Hon. Robert J. Walker, of 
Miss., a pronounced Free Trader, was 
made Secretary of the Treasury, the 
tariff of 1842, under wnich the country 
had so rapidly advanced to prosperity 
was repealed, and the Free Trade tariff 
of 1846 enacted. 

Disastrous effects of Tariff of 1846, upon 
all Industrial Interests — Testimony of 
Henry €. Carey. 

And now let some of the ablest men 
of the period through which this Free- 
Trade tariff extended, Democrats and 
Whigs, in a few brief extracts, tell the 
story of disaster and suffering which it 
worked. 

Mr. Henry C. Carey, an able writer on 
Political Ecomony, in his " The Pros- 
pect, Agricultural, Manufacturing, Com- 
mercial and Financial, at the opening 
of the year 1851," aud printed in 1851, 
during the operation of this Free-Trade 
tariff, thus describes its disastrous effects 
upon every industrial interest : 

At close of this brief period of real "prosperity" 
[in 1846], how great was the change. Labor was 
everywhere in demand. Planters had large crops, 
and the domestic market was growing with a rap- 
idity that promised better prices. The produce of 
the farm was in demand, and prices had risen. The 
consumption of coal, iron, wool, and cotton, and 
woolen cloth, was immense and rapidly increasing, 
while prices were falling, because of the rapidly 
improving character of the machinery of produc- 
tion. Production of every kind was immense, and 
commerce, internal and external, was growing 
with unexampled rapidity. Shipping was in de- 
mand, and its quantity was being augmented at a 
rate never before known. R >ads and canals were 
productive. Corporations had been resuscitated, 
and States had recommeneed payment, and the 
credit of the Union was so high that the same per- 
sons who had villified the people and the govern- 



186 



THE TARIFF. 



ment of the Union in 1842, were now anxious to 
secure their custom on almost any terms — having 
become as fawning now as before they had been 
insolent.— P. 35. 

And again in a letter to Hon. Robert 
F. Walker, Secretary of the Treasury, 
he says : 

The tariff of 1846 has caused the total ruin of 
thou ands and tens of thousands of the most useful 
men in the country. It tends to the utter de- 
struction of the coal and the iron, the cotton and 
the woolen interest-;; and unless its progress be 
stayed, at that goal we must soon arrive, as must 
be admitted even by yourself. For all this wo 
should elsewhere find some compensation. If we 
produce less coal and iron, we should have more 
wheat to sell. If we make less cotton cloth, we 
should export more cotton. If we make less woolen 
cloth, we should raise more wool. If we build 
fewer factories, we should export more tob.icco. 
If we build fewer furnaces, we should export more 
corn and pork; and all these things we must do 
or largely diminish our consumption of cloth and 
iron, because if we do not make wemustbuy them, 
which can be done only by producing commodities 
which their producers are willing to receive in ex- 
change for them. If these things have happened 
there may be found therein some compensation for 
diminished production of cloth andiron; but if 
they have not happened then there is no compen- 
sation for the vast destruction we have witnessed 
and are daily witnessing. 

Have they happeued? Have we more wheat to 
export. On the contrary, we have less from year 
to year. Have we more cotton, rice, tobacco, corn, 
and pork to sell ? The answer is found in the fact 
that the quantity for export diminishes from year 
to year. The demand for ships diminishes and 
the demand for labor diminishes, and instead of 
this country becoming from year to year more and 
more an asylum for the down-trodden people of 
Europe, it becomes from year to year less so ; and 
with the diminution of immigration there is a 
diminution of the number of persons with whom 
we maintain perfect freedom of trade, untram- 
mcled by the interference of custom-house offi- 
cers. Under the tariff of 1842 immigration trebled, 
and with each immigrant we established perfect 
freedom of trade. Under the tariff of 1846 immi- 
gration has become stationary, with a tendency to 
decline, and the number of arrivals in the last 
fiscal year is little greater than it w;:s three years 
before. Perfect free trade has ceased to extend 
itself. We trade now with a million of Europeans, 
still resident in Europe, who, but for the enact- 
ment of the tariff of 1846, would now be Ameri- 
cans,— P. 5. 

Abram S. Hewitt, Free Trade Demo. 
cratic Leader in House, denounced? 
in 1849, the Tariff of 1846 as ruinous to 
all our Industrial Interests — His 
Speech at Trenton, N. J. 

Mr. Abram S. Hewitt, of New York, 
is one of the ablest of the leading Demo- 
crats of the present House. He is now 
an advocate of Free Trade. He was 
also a Democrat in 1848, but under the 
runious operation of the Free Trade 
tariff of 1846, he was compelled to de- 
mand protection as the only means of a 
restoration of prosperity. At a public 
meeting in Trenton, N. J., in September, 
1848, Mr. Hewitt, urged : 

Labor in Europe was worth twenty-five or thirty 
cents a day ; in this country three or four times 
thatmucn. The average wages in their millisa 
little more than a dollar a day, (now $2.) Why 
was there this difference between English wages 
andAmerican wages? Beca ise some eight hun- 
dred years ago Britain was invaded by a foreign 
conqueror who seized all the land and wealth of 
the island and devoted it to sustain a royal family 



and a landed aristocracy, and compelled the peo- 
ple, the serfs, whom they made worse than slaves, 
to toil for them for tne merest pittance that would 
keep them alive. That sy-stem continues to this 
day, the people still toil on for the most niggardly 
wages, and the great part of their earnings goes to 
sustain the Queen in her pomp and the nobles in 
their spendthrift idleness. In this country it was 
not so. Our forefathers settled here as men, all of 
whom were equal to each other, and all of whom 
were entitled to the products of their labor. What- 
ever any man earned was his, ail his, and no part 
of it was to be taken to sustain a monarch's solen- 
dor or an idle aristocracy. Under this system the 
colonies grow aud flourished until they attracted 
the attention of the government at home, and that 
government attempted by taxing them to take 
from them a portion of their earnings just as they 
took from the workmen at home the chief part of 
theirs. That attempt our fathers resisted by arms, 
and successfully. But in these days the attempt 
is renewed, and by our own government ; they are 
endeavoring to break down the difference of En- 
glish wages aad American wages, to reduce the 
American workman from his dollar a day to an 
equality with the English workman, who receives 
as the fruits of his labor only a paltry share, while 
the remainder is taken to support a king and no- 
bility ***** 

" The value of any manufacture is made up en- 
tirely of the wages paid to produce It. Coal and 
iron in the mines cost nothing. They are the free 
gift of God. But they are excavated by the pick 
and shovel of the workman; by him they are 
wheeled, carted, boated to market; by the work- 
man they are carried to the mill; by the workman 
the furnace is heated and charged ; by him the 
iron is puddled, rolled, put up for market, carried 
thither and sold. It is labor, labor, labor that con- 
stitutes every addition to the value of the article, 
and it is the man who bestows that labor who 
should enjoy all the fruits of it. 

"I have lately been in New England for the 
purpose of securing a contract for rails, in order to 
keep the mills running after our present contract 
runs out. I offered to make the rails at the very 
lowest price at which they could be made at the 
present rate of wages. An English agent came 
there and underbid me and got the contract. 
Thus, for wantof a protective system, is the money 
sent to England to employ English workmen that 
ought to have come here to employ you." 

Mr. Hewitt said he was not a Whig, but a Demo- 
crat. Still he went for protection now. as he did, 
and as his party did, in 1844, and he went for Gen- 
eral Taylor because he would sign a bill to protect 
American labor. He did not ask for any unrea- 
sonable duty. He only asked for a duty equal to 
the difference between American labor and Eng- 
lish labor, &c. 

Mr. Hewitt closed by proposing a 
series of resolutions embodying the gen- 
eral principles he had advanced: 

Resolved, Th it this meeting, composed of men 
who depend for their livelihood upon the labor of 
their own hands, hold the following facts and 
principles to be undeniahly true, viz: 

That natural wealth is the fruit of individual 
labor. 

That, therefore, is the best government and the 
best policy which secures to the hand that earns it 
the largest possible return for its labor. 

That the superiority of free institutions and 
economical government is proved by the fact that 
in the United States the average wages of labor are 
from three to four times as large as under the 
monarchical governments of Europe. 

That while foreign labor is paid at this price, it 
would be worse than insanity to adopt any policy 
by which the wages ot our own labor should be 
reduced to the same level, because it would be 
throwing away all the advantages secured to us 
by a free and economical government. 

That if the whole productive industry of the 
country were employed in producing the articles 
which we sell abroad, which are mainly bread- 
stuffs and provisions, cotton, rice, and tobacco, we 
should produce a much larger quantity than we 



THE TARIFF. 



187 



could sell ; foreign markets would soon be glutted 
with these articles; the price of them would fall ; 
the laborer that produced them would, as a mat- 
ter of course, receive less remuneration that it 
now d"es; the only stopping point in the decline 
of wages would be the starving: point, and the in- 
evitable result would be th«t we should be forced 
to give equal labor for equal labor, instead of 
one day's lnbor for four, as we have been doing 
for many years. 

That, therefore, if we would keep up the price 
of labor, we cannot employ the whole productive 
labor of the country in raising such articles as we 
export; and the farmers, of all men in the com- 
munity, are most interested in employing in some 
other way that amount of labor, which, if devoted 
to agriculture, would produce a glut, and a con- 
sequent fall of prices in the foreign markets; and 
that the only way in which such surplus labor 
can be employed is in producing certain manu- 
factured articles, which can be bought cheaper in 
foreign countries, not because it takes less labor 
there to p-oduce them, but because that labor is 
paid for at a less price. 

That hence arises the necessity for a tariff, 
which, p-operly devised, is merely a system 
whereby the price of labor, which naturally re- 
sults under a free and economical government, is 
prevented from being reduced to the pauper level 
of l*bor which just as naturally results under 
governments where the first fruits of labor, in- 
stead of being secured to the hand that earns 
them, are filched away in order to maintain the 
costly splendor of thrones and the idle extrava- 
gance of an enervated aristocracy. 

A little later, in December, 1849, Mr 
Hewitt repeats the story of ruin : 

And first, what is the real condition of the do- 
mestic iron trade? Is it actually depressed and 
threatened with ruin, or does all the outcry pro- 
ceed from men who, having realized "princely 
fortunes" annually, are now clamorous because 
their profits are reduced to reasonable limits, or 
from another class who, having erected works in 
improper locations, desire not so much to make 
iron cheaply as to build up villages and speculate 
in real estate ? Und >ubtedly to some extent there 
are such cases, * * * but as to the great fact 
that the great majority of establishments judi- 
ciously located and managed with proper skill and 
economy have been compelled to suspend work 
throughout the land for want of remunerating 
work there cannot be a shadow of a doubt. 

Again, of fifteen rail mills only two are in opera- 
tion, doing partial work, and that only because 
their inhmd position secured them against foreign 
competition, for the limited orders of neighboring 
railroads, and when these are executed not a 
single rail mill will be at work in the land. 

Hon. Joseph Casey of Pa., Relates the 
Rain to tne Iron-Trade. 

In the House of Representatives, on 
the 12th of August, 1850, Hon. Joseph 
Casey, of Pa., declared : 

The whole history of the mauufacture of iron in 
Pennsylvania shows that in a period of seventy- 
five years there have been erected 500 furnaces, 
and but of them 177 failures or where they have 
been closed out by the sheBiff. Out of this IT 
failures 124 of them have occurred 'iince the pass- 
age of the tariff of 1846. And out of 300 blast fur- 
naces in full operation when the tariff of 1846 was 
enacted into a law, or fully one-half, had stopped 
several months ago, and ful'y50 more are prepar- 
ing to go out of blast. 

President Fillmore, in his Message, 
tells the Story of Disaster and Ruin to 
all of our industries— Asks for a res- 
toration of Protection as a means to 



a revival of National and Industrial 
Prosperity. 

President Fill more, in his Annual 
Message, dated December 2,1851, says: 

The values of our d mestic exports for the last 
fiscal year, as compared with those of the previous 
year, exhibit an increase of $43,646,322. At first 
view this condition of our trade with foreign na- 
tions would seem to present the most flattering 
hope of its future prosperity. An examination of 
the details of our exports, however, will show that 
the increased value of our exports for the last 
fiscal year is to be found in the high price of cot- 
ton which prevailed during the last half of that 
year, which price has since declined about one- 
half. The value of our exports of breadstuffs and 
provisions, which it was supposed the incentive 
of a low tariff and large importations from abroad 
would have greatly augmented, has iallen from 
868,701,921 in 1847 to $26,051,373 in 1850 and 
to 821,848,653 in 1851, with a strong probability, 
amounting almost to a certainty, of a still fur- 
ther reduction in the current year. The ag- 
gregate values of rice exported during the last 
fiscal year as compared with the previous year 
also exhibic a decrease amounting to 8460,917, 
which, with a decline in the values of the exports 
of tobacco for the same period, make an aggregate 
decrease in these two articles of 81,156,751. 

The policy which dictated a low rate of duties, 
on foreign merchandise, it was thought by those 
who promoted and established it, would tend to 
benefit the farming population of this country, by 
increasing the demand and raising the price of 
agricultural products in foreign markets. 

The foregoing facts, however, seem to show in- 
contestably that no such result has followed the 
adoption of this policy. 

In a subsequent Message President 
Fillmore, urges : 

In my first annual message to Congress I called 
your attention to what seemed to me some defects 
in the present tariff and recommended such modi- 
fica..ons as in my judgment were best adapted to 
remedy its evils and promote the prosperity of the 
country. Nothing has since occurred to change 
my views on this important question. 

Without repeating the arguments contained in 
my former message in favor of discriminating pro- 
tective duties, I deem it my duty to call your at- 
tention to one or two other considerations affect- 
ing this subject.. The first is the effect of large im- 
portations of foreign goods upon our currency. 
Most o t the gold of California, as fast as it is coined, 
finds its way directly to Europe in payment for 
goods purchased. In the second place, as our 
manufacturing establishments ar,e broken down 
by competition with foreigners, the capital in- 
vested in them is lost, thousands of honest and in- 
dustrious citizens are thrown out of employment, 
and the farmer, to that extent, is deprive 1 of a 
home market for the sale of his surplus pro- 
duce. In the third place, the destruction of our 
manufactures leaves the foreigner without com- 
petition in our market, and he consequently raises 
the price of the ariicle sent here for sale, as is now 
seen in the increased cost of iron imported from 
England. The prosperity and wealth of every 
nation muvt depend upon its productive industry. 
The farmer is stimulated t ) exertion by finding a 
ready market for his surplus products, and bene- 
fited by being able to exctiauge them, without loss 
of time or expense of transportation, for the manu- 
factures which his comfort or convenience re- 
quires. This is always done to the best advantage 
where a portion of the community in which he 
lives is engaged in other pursuits. But most 
manufactures require an amount of capital and a 
practical skill which cannot be commanded unless 
they be protected for a time from ruinous compe- 
tition from abroad. 

President Buchanan, in his Messages, 
affirms the Story of Ruin— In the 
midst of Unsurpassed National Wealth 



188 



THE TARIFF. 



1 



Manufactures Suspended— Public 
Works Retarded— All Kinds of Pri- 
vate Enterprises Abandoned— Thou- 
sands of Workingmen Idle and re- 
duced to Want - Government Reve- 
nues Reduced and a National Loan 
Required. 

President Buchanan, at the close of 
this disastrous period, in his annual 
message, also appealed for protection as 
a means of rebuilding our dilapidated 
industries and trade. In his annual mes- 
sage, dated December 8, 1857, he urges *• 

Since the adjournment of the last Congress our 
constituents have enjoyed an unusual degree of 
health. The earth has yielded her fruits abund- 
antly and has bountifully rewarded the toil of the 
husbandman. Our great staples have commanded 
high prices, and., up till within a brief period, our 
manufacturing, mineral, and mechanical occupa- 
tions have largely partaken of the general pros- 
perity. We bave possessed all the elements of 
material wealth in rich abundance, and yet, 
notwithstanding all these advantages, our country, 
in its monetary interests, is at the present moment 
in a deplorable condition. In the midst of un- 
surpassed plenty in all the productions and in all 
the elements of national wealth we find our 
manuf ictures suspended, our public works re- 
tarded, our private enterprises of different 
kinds abandoned, and thousands of useful labor- 
ers thrown out of employment and reduced to 
want. The revenue of the government, which is 
chiefly derived from duties on imports from 
abroad, has been greatly reduced, while the ap- 
nropriations made by Congress at its last session 
for the current fiscal year are very large in 
amount. 

Under these circumstances a loan may be re- 
quired before the close of your present "session; 
but this, although deeply to be regretted, would 
prove to be only a slight misfortune when com- 
pared with the suffering and distress prevailing 
among the people. With this the government 
cannot fail deeply to sympathize, though it may 
be without the power to extend relief. 

The Free TarifT which Struck Down 
our Industries also Failed to Supply 
the Necessary Revenues for Govern- 
ment— The National Treasury Bank- 
rupt — The National Credit Fallen to 
its ^Lowest Ebb— Treasury Notes sold 
at 12 per cent. Discount — The Inevit- 
able Result of Free Trade. 

As in 1840, under the destructive ope- 
ration of the compromise tariff of 1833, 
so in 1860, under the free-trade tariff of 
1846, the act which struck down our in- 
dustries, necessarily destroyed our trade, 
.and failed to supply the government 
with its necessary revenues. In 1860 the 
national treasury was bankrupt, and the 
credit of the nation had fallen to its low- 
est ebb in our financial history. A Trea- 
sury statement thus gives the figures at 
which in 1860 our Treasury notes were 
sold : 

At 6 per cent $70,200 

At 7 per cent 5,000 

At 8 per cent 24,500 

At Si per cent 33,000 

At 8i per cent 10,000 

At 9 per cent 65,000 



At 9iper cent 10,000 

At 9£ per cent 160,000 

At 9f per cent 77,000 

At 10 per cent. 1,027,500 

At 10i per cent 266,000 

At 10£ per cent 623,000 

At 10| per cent 1,367,000 

At 11 per cent 1,432,700 

At 12 per cent 4,840,000 

Tolal 10,010,900 

And this is the inevitable result of free 
trade. The destruction of our industries, 
reducing our laboring classes, manufac- 
turing and agricultural, to want and 
misery, the ruin of commerce and trade, 
and that of the people and nation. 



PART X. 

Free Trade— Its History Un- 
der Owr Crovernment — 
The Handmaid of Slavery 
and Secession. 

Wm. R. Giles, of Virginia, the Leader of 
the Opposition Under Washington's 
Administration, a Free-Trader— Free 
Trade as Advocated by the Champions 
of Slavery and Minority Rule-Sup- 
ported by the " Educated Classes "— 
Jno. Taylor of Caroline and his Works 
—Denounces Manufactures as Injuri- 
ous to Morals— Denounces Protective 
Duties as Rounties to Manufacturers— 
As Unconstitutional and Ruinous to 
Agriculture and Commerce, while De- 
claring the Government a I<eague,4&c. 
—These Free Trade and Pro-Slavery 
Dogmas Culminate in 1832 in Nulli- 
fication and Treason. 

The leader of the opposition in the 
House to Washington's administration 
was Mr. Wm. B. Giles, of Virginia. In 
1797, upon the retirement of Washing- 
ton, Giles rejoiced in the fact, as he be- 
lieved it would result in the public good. 
He had no admiration or respect for 
Washington's administration or its 
measures. Mr. Giles was a free trader. 
John Taylor, of Caroline, a noted man 
of his time, and probably the ablest of 
the free trade or States' rights school, 
was also a member of this opposition. 
In Congress and in his published works, 
such as " Construction Construed and the 
Constitutions Vindicated," (1820) " Ty- 
ranny Unmasked," (1822) he denounces 
protection as unconstitutional and ty- 
rannical, and even barbarous. He de- 
scribes protective duties asbounties. He 
denounces manufactures as injurious to 
morals, and as producing pauperism — 
protective duties as a tax on the many 
for a bounty to the few — as ruinous to 



THE TARIFF 



189 



agriculture and commerce and destruc- I 
tive of revenue. Some notion of Ms 
abilities and principles may be given by 
a few extracts from his works. In 
"Construction Construed, 1 ' (pp. 232,233,) 
lie argues : 

The policy of fostering combinations by fed- ' 
era! laws, has undoubtedly transferred, and con- 
tinues to transfer, a considerable portion of the 
profits of labour, front one portion of the Union 
to another ; not to enrich the people generally of 
the receiving States, but to mass great capitals 
for a few individuals residing in them ; towards ■ 
which all the States contribute, and by which is 
artificially reared a monied interest at the ex- 
pense of the whole community, which is gradu- 
ally obtaining an influence over the federal 
government, of the same kind with that posses- 
1 sed by a similar sect «ver the British parlia- 
ment. The operations of this sect, being already 
sorely felt, have already produced awful calcu- 
lations in reference to a dissolution of the Union. 
These arise from its new efforts to gratify an in- 
satiable avarice, and its fears of the resent- 
ment it excites. It therefore craftily works 
upon the passion of the States it has been able 
to delude, by computations of their physical 
strength and their naval superiority ; and by J 
boasting of an ability to use the weakening cir- i 
cumstance of negro slavery, to coerce the de- 1 
frauded and discontented States into submis- 
eion. 

The indignation excited by these threats ! 
has suggested on the other hand, estimates of j 
resources and means of defence. * * * 

If the maxim advanced by the advocates of j 
the protecting duty system will justify Con- \ 

f;ress in assuming, or rather in empowering a j 
ew capitalists to assume the direction of man- j 
ufacturing labour, it also invests that body with 
a power of legislating for the direction of every 
other species of labour and assigning all occu- 
pations whatsoever to the care of the intelligence 
of mercenary combinations. This is the very 
power which constitutes the nature of the 
Chinese and British governments, enables them 
to place labor under the intelligent direction 
of mercenary combinations, and causes the, mis- 
eries of labourers in those countries. {Ibid., p. 
251.) 

The fundamental axiom upon which 
his theories or reasoning are based is— 

The federal is not a national government ; it 
is a league between nations. By this league, 
a limited power only over persons and property 
was given to the representatives of the united 
nations. This power cannot be further extended, 
under the pretext of national good, because the 
league does not create a national government. 
(Ibid., p. 234.) 

Under Washington and the elder Ad- 
ams, and even under Jefferson, these 
principles made but little headway even 
at the South. As late as 1816 we find 
Calhoun advocating protection, and 
warning the House of a "new and ter- 
rible danger"— "disunion." He advo- 
cated protection because its tendency 
was to bind the sections more closely 
together by harmonizing their industrial 
interests, and thus defeating disunion 
by removing the grand and primary 
ground upon which it was advocated. 
As yet these sentiments and this treason- 
able policy— free trade and secession- 
were confined to a few of the "educated 
classes," like John Taylor and William 
B. Giles, but by incessant iteration they 



gradually spread in the South. They, 
however made no very formidable head- 
way until the passage of the tariff act 
of 1824. Now, in the States of South 
Carolina and Georgia, great excitement 
prevailed, and it continued to increase 
under the action of the majority in Con- 
gress until, in 1832-33, it culminated in 
Nullification, in preparations for open 
revolt, in consequence of the passage of 
the tariff law of 1828. 

Dr. Thomas Cooper, President of South 
Carolina College, at Columbia, in 
July, 1827— The L,eader of the South- 
ern " Educated Classes "—Of Southern 
Thought and Action— Denounces Man- 
ufactures as a Hydra— Denounces the 
Rule of the Majority— His Seditious 
and Treasonable Utterances— His call 
to Resistance — Time to " Calculate the 
Value of our Union." 

On July 2, 1827, at a meeting in Colum- 
bia, S. C, of its "educated classes," of 
"the elite of its wealth and intelligence," 
j its slave owners, called in hostility to pro- 
| tecting duties, the celebrated Dr. Thomas 
j Cooper, President of South Carolina Col- 
i lege, a man of genius and learning, and 
of great influence in his section, boldly 
i preached sedition and treason. He in- 
i veighed heavily against the rule of the 
'majority. He exclaimed: "Manufac- 
ture is a Hydra." He urged; 

No wonder, if a drilled and managed majority 
! occupies the hall of the House of Representa- 
1 fives, and wielding the power of the nation, de- 
termines at all hazards to support the claims of 
northern n anuf acturer6, and to offer up the 
planting interest on the altar of monopoly. * * 
That equality of rights, equality of duties, 
equality of burthens, equality of protection, 
equality of laws, constituted the prevailing 
features of our happy institutions ; but I am. 
now, sir, to learn for the first time, that in the 
canting, cheating, cajoliDg slang of the monop- 
olists, the American system is a system, by 
which the earnings of the south are to be trans- 
ferred to the north— by which the many are 
sacrificed to the few— under which powers are 
usurped that were never conceded— by which 
inequality of rights, inequality of burthens, in- 
equality of protection, unequal laws, and une- 
qual taxes are to be enacted and rendered per- 
manent—that the planter and the farmer under 
this system are to be considered as inferior be- 
ings to the spinner, the bleacher, and the dyer— 
that we of the south hold our plantations under 
( this system, as the serfs and operatives of the 
north, subject to the orders and labouring 
for the benefit of the master minds of 
I Massachusetts, the lords of the spinning 
enny, and peers of the power loom, who 
have a light to tax our earnings for their 
I emolument, and to burthen our poverty and to 
] swell their riches. This is the American system, 
1 these gentlemen are pleased to hold up as the 
! idol of the day; as the golden image, which 
they indeed may be well content to worship. 
- To call this system of fraud, robbery, and usur- 
I pationthe American system-will sound to your 
i ears, as it does to niiue, a base libel on Ameri- 
c n character. * * * 

I have said that we shall erelongbe compelled 
to calculate the value of our union; and to enquire 
of what use to us is tfris most unequal alliance, by 
, which the south lias always been the loser, and 
j the north always the gainer? Is it worth our 



190 



THE TARIFF. 



while to continue this union of states, where the 
north demands to be our masters and we are 
r» quired to he their tributaries 1 Who with the 
most insulting mockery call the yoke they put 
upon our necks the "American system!" The 
question, however, is fast approaching to the al- 
ternative of submission or separation. * * 
[Niles 1 Register, Vol. xxxiii.pp. 28-32.] 

On July 4, 1827, at a banquet at Rich- 
mond, Virginia, distinguished for its 
seditious utterances, and at which " the 
elite of its educated classes," its slave- 
holding chivalry, were assembled, Mr. 
Giles proposed his famous toast : 

The Tariff Schemer: The silly boy who 
ripped up his goose that laid the golden eggs— 
The Southerns will not long pay tribute. [Ntles' 
Register, Vol. xxxii, p. 371.] 

The Walterborongh, (S. C.) Anti-Tariff 
Meeting of June, 1828— Its Seditions 
and Treasonable Utterances— The "Ed- 
ucated Classes " Publish the Notori- 
ous Colleton Address in Support of 
Free Trade and Minority Rule. 

On June 12, 1828, at a meeting held at 
Walterborongh Court House, S. C, a 
gathering of the "educated classes" of 
the district, its slave-holding thanes, is- 
sued the treasonable Colleton Address 
so notorious in its day. A few brief ex- 
tracts will expose its character and pur- 
pose: 

DuriDg the last summer, we collected together 
In our dist- ict capacities, and from every section 
of the State, declared to the Congress of the 
United States, that a tariff framed with a view 
to encourage domestic manufactures was con- 
trary to our free and chartered rights. Our leg- 
islature took the subjeot into consideration. 
They condescended to repeat, what they had 
already said in 1824 ; and in an able and dispas- 
sionate memorial, solemnly laid their protest 
before the Congress of this union against such 
partial and unconstitutional legislation. As a 
sovereign state, we have declared that such a 
tariff would be a violation of our sovereign 
rights. As freemen, we have proclaimed to the 
world that such a tariff would be an infring- 
ment of our privileges as men ; and in terms as 
moderate as they were respectful, we have im- 
plored our brethren not to drive us to the stern 
alternative of submitting in shame, or resist- 
ance in sorrow. Your remonstrances and your 
implorations have been in vain ; and a tariff bill 
has passed, not, indeed, such as you appre- 
hended, but tenfold worse in all its oppressive 
features. **■*.,* 

From the rapid step of usurpation, whether 
we now act or not, the day of open opposition to 
the pretended powers of the constitution, can- 
not be far off, and it is that it may not go down 
in blood that we now call upon you to resist. 
We feel ourselves standing underneath its 
mighty protection, and declaring forth its free 
and recorded spirit, when we say we must resist. 
By all the great principles of liberty— by the 
glorious achievement of our fathers m defend- 
ing them— by their noble blood poured forth 
like water in maintaining them — by their hives 
in suffering.and their death in honor and in glory; 
— our countrymen ! we must resist. Not secret- 
ly, as timid thieves or skulking smugglers— not 
in companies and associations, like money- 
chafferers or stock-jobbers — not separately and 
individually, as if this was ours and not our 
country's cause,— but openly, fairly, fearlessly, 
and unitedly, as becomes a free, sovereign, and 
independent people. Does timidity ask " when?" 
We answer now. * * * 



But if you are doubtful of yourselves— if you 
are not prepared to follow up your principles 
wherever they may lead, to their very last con- 
sequence—if you love life better than honor- 
prefer ease to perilous liberty and glory, awake 
not, stir not ! Impotent resistance will add ven- 
geance to your ruin. Live in smiling peace with 
your insatiable oppressors, and die with the no- 
ble consolation, that your submissive patience 
will survive triumphant your beggary and de- 
spair. (Mies' Register, Vol. xxxiv, pp. 288-290.) 

The Seditious and Treasonable Utter- 
ances of these *« Educated Classes'* 
Fire the Southern Heart — Nullifica- 
tion— " The Bloody Old Tyrant" Jack- 
son Causes them to Revise Their Re- 
solves " To I>ie in the East Ditch" 
—The Disastrous Compromise Tariff 
of 1833 the work of these Classes- 
Free Trade, Slavery, and Secession 
March Arm in Arm— The Tariff of 1846 
their Ruinous Work— Their Joint 
Reign Culminates in the Rebellion. 

" To calculate the value of our 
Union" — "Southerns will not long pay 
tribute ! " These inflammable and se- 
ditious utterances of the educated 
leaders of the slave- owning gentry, 
were soon adopted as maxims, as a slo- 
gan, by the pro slavery thanes and 
their retainers, and the Southern heart 
was fired. Under their guide, under the 
tyranny of these educated classes, 
these seditious haters of freedom and 
the masses and supporters of minority 
rule based upon slavery, South Caro- 
lina, on November 24, 1832, passed its 
Ordinance of Nullification. It declared 
that the tariff acts of May 19, 1828, and 
of July 14, 1832, were " unauthorized by 
the Constitution," and " null, void, and 
no law, nor binding " upon South Caro- 
lina, " its officers or citizens." It in- 
structed its people to resist the national 
authority — to violently resist the exe- 
cution or laws constitutionally enacted 
in Congress by a lawful majority with 
the approval of the President ! It sum- 
moned them to arms in support of trea- 
son to the constitution — treason to lib- 
erty and free government. 

But "the bloody old tyrant" Presi- 
dent Jackson to®K the field, and these 
intrepid educated leaders speedily re- 
vised their unyielding resolves " to die 
in the last ditch." The result of this 
traitorous escapade was nevertheless 
disastrous to the whole people and na- 
tion. A principle of chivalry in Henry 
Clay's nature, a wish to rescue these 
educated pro-slavery gentry in arms 
against the majority from the halter 
designed for them by Jackson, with a 
sincere alarm for the safety of the pro- 
tective principle, caused Clay to intro- 
duce and pasn the compromise tariff of 
1833, with its train of disastrous results. 
It was a great error. Clay's heart over- 
ruled his judgment. Jackson, supported 
by Webster, had determined to test the 
powers of the government in the sum- 



THE TARIFF. 



191 



mary punishment of these traitorous 
pro-slavery educated leaders ; and 
when they were thus wrested from 
his vengeance, he predicted that the 

Bretended acquiescence of South Caro- 
na in the execution of the laws was 
not genuine— that its "educated clas- 
ses," its pro-slavery thanes, had not 
surrendered their purposes of disunion, 
but that they would next attempt to 
accomplish it through the slavery is- 
sue. Jackson was right. From that 
moment, Free Trade, Slavery, and Se- 
cession marched arm in arm. They 
were inseparable. They wrought the 
industrial ruin of 1840. They inflicted 
upon the nation the losses and disasters 
under the tariff of 1846, during the 
period extending from 1849 to 1861, 
when these educated classes, in support 
of free trade and slavery, threw up 
the banner of rebellion — causing a loss 
to the nation of 500,000 lives and nearly 
7,000,000,000 of treasure. 

PART XL 

The Son tli under the Rule of 
its Free Trade Dogmas. 

Slavery the Parent of Free Trade— The 
Condition of the Laboring Masses at 
the South under Slavery and Free 
Trade — Their Degraded Condition de- 
scribed by Southern Men — Governor 
Hammond's (of South Carolina) Story 
of their Wretchedness. 

The "educated" or leading classes of 
the South, its planting or slave-owning 
classes prior to the rebellion, were radi- 
cally opposed to what was called 
"free labor." They were consequently 
opposed to free laborers. In the lan- 
guage of Dr. Cooper "manufacture 
was a hydra." Hence they were 
opposed to all manufacturing es- 
tablishments. All mechanical crafts or 
labor were regarded as degrading, and 
hence its "educated" or ruling classes 
were all free traders. 

What was the situation of the South 
under this state of affairs? What the 
condition and character of its masses or 
the majority ? We will let Southern men 
tell the pitiful story. Some of them were 
humane, public spirited, and possessed 
of an ambition to serve the masses. Gov- 
ernor Hammond, of South Carolina, af- 
terwards Senator of the United States, 
before the South Carolina Institute in 
1850, described "the poor whites" as ig- 
norant, degraded, and immoral, reduced 
to the frightful necessity of obtaining 
" a precarious subsistence by occasional 
jobs, by hunting, by fishing, by plunder- 
ing fields or folds, and too often by what 
is far worse, by trading with slaves and 
seducing them to plunder for their ben- 
efit." 



Mr. Tarver's (of Missouri) Testimony in 
his "The Non-SlaTeholders "—Their 
Land Universally so Poor and Sterile 
as only to furnish a Scanty Subsist- 
ence — The Aristocratic Educated 
Classes Monopolize all Wealth— The 
Poor White Declines the Hopeless 
Pursuit of a Respectable Position in 
the Scale of Wealth— Their Condition 
Becoming- Worse with Every Genera- 
tion. 

In a work by Mr. Tarver, of Missouri, 
printed in 1847, and titled "The Non- 
Slaveholders," even the better classes, 
those owning some little land, are de- 
scribed as possessing "generally but 
very small means." Mr. Tarver says : 

The land which they possess is almost univer- 
sally very poor, and so sterile that a scanty sub- 
sistence is all that can be derived from its culti- 
vation ; and the more fertile soil, being in pos- 
session of the slaveholder, must ever remain out 
of the power of those who have none. * * 
The slaveholder— the aristocratic oppressor- 
possessed almost all the wealth of the country. 
This state of things is a great drawback, and 
bears heavily upon and depresses the moral en- 
ergies of the poorer classes. * * * 
The acquisition of a respectable position in the 
scale of wealth appears so df fficult that they de- 
cline the hopeless pursuit, and many of them set- 
tle down in o habits of 'dleness, and become the 
almost passive subjects of its consequences. And 
I lament to say that I have observed of late 
yes that an evident deterioration is taking 
place in this part of the population, the younger 
portion of it being less educated, less industri- 
ous, and in every point of view less respectable 
tluiii their ancestors. 

Mr. J. H. Taylor's (of Charleston, S. C, 
Testimony— The White Non -Slave- 
holding Freeman but One Step in 
Advance of the Indian— An Evil of 
Vast Magnitude — M r. Or egg's (of 
Charleston, S. C.) Testimony — The 
Poor Whites Deplorably Ignorant 
and Debased —Efforts to Christianize 
Them by the Introduction of Manu- 
' facturing Establishments -Live in 
Comparative Nakedness and Starva- 
tion—Many a proud South Carolina- 
an Stinted for Meatr-A Wretched 
Condition Without a Parallel Within 
the Pale of Civilization. 

A similar picture of the almost hope- 
less degradation of the white non-slave- 
holder, is also drawn by Mr. J. H. 
Taylor of Charleston. S. C, and others. 
Mr. Wm. Gregg, of Charleston, in 1850, 
in an address before the South Carolina 
Institute, urges : 

Any man who is an observer of things could 
hardly pass through our country without being 
struck with the fact that all the capital, enter- 
prise, and intelligence is employed in directing 
slave labor ; and the consequence is that a large 
portion of our poor white people are wholly 
neglected, and are suffered to while away an ex- 
istence in a state but one step in advance of the 
Indian of the forest. It is an evil of vast mag- 
nitude, and nothing but a change in publio senti- 
ment will effect its cure. These people must be 
brought into daily contact with the rioh and in- 



192 



THE TARIFF. 



telligent. They must be stimulated to mental ac 
tion, and taught to appi 
comforts of civilized life 



tion, and taught to appreciate education and the 
" life. 



Mr. Gregg and others established a 
manufacturing village at Granitsville, 
S. C. He thus describes the result : 

We liave collected at tliat place about eight 
hundred people, and as likely looking a set of 
country girls as may he found — industrious and 
orderly people, hut deplorably ignorant, three- 
fourths of the adults not being able to read or to 
write their names. * * * * With the aid 
of ministers of the gospel on the spot, to preach 
to them and lecture them on the subject, we have 
obtained but about sixty children for our school 
of about a hundred which are in the place. We 
are satisfied that nothing but time and patience 
will enable us to bring them all out. * * * 
It is very clear to me that the only means of 
educating and Christianizing our poor whites 
will be to bring them into such villages, where 
they will not only become intelligent, but a 
thrifty and useful class in our community. 

Mr. Gregg, in another work, his Es- 
says on Domestic Industry, &c„ asks : 

Shall we pass unnoticed the thousands of poor, 
ignorant, degraded white people among us, who, 
in this land of plenty, live in comparative na- 
kedness and starvation ? Many a one is reared 
in proud South Carolina, from birth to manhood, 
who has never passed a month in which ho has 
not some part of the time been stinted for meat. 
T " any a mother is there who will tell you that 
her children are but scantily supplied with 
bread, and much more scantily with meat ; and 
if they be clad with comfortable raiment it is at 
the expense of their scanty allowance of food. 

" These are startling statements," 
urges Mr. Gregg, "but they are never- 
theless true," and he appeals in support 
of their truth to members of the South 
Carolina legislature, "who have tra- 
versed the State in electioneering cam- 
paigns." 

All efforts to ameliorate the Wretched 
condition of the Poor Whites Frus- 
trated by Selfish Pride, the Insatiable 
Avarice of the Educated, or Planting 
classes — Slavery and Free Trade 
cheaply supply all their wants— Manu- 
facturing' establishments immoral 
and irreligious — Poor Whites de- 
graded, half clad, half fed, and igno- 
rant—Testimony of Mr. Tracy and Mr. 
Lnmpkin (of Georgia), in his "Indus- 
trial Regeneration of the South"— Sad 
Pictures of Degredation. 

But the selfish pride, the insatiate 
averice, of the "educated classes," the 
iron tyranny of caste, was not to be in- 
fluenced by appeals to their humanity. 
Their natures were insensible to the 
degradation and misery daily before 
their eyes. Slavery and free trade sup- 
plied cheaply all their own physical 
wants. Why should they trouble them- 
selves about the poor whites ? Besides, 
free labor, the introduction of mechan- 
ics or manufactures, would demoralize 
their communities. The establishment 
of manufacturers in the North and 



East, as in all countries where mechani- 
cal industries had thrived, had been a 
"Pandora box that had filled the land 
with all sorts of moral plagues " — had 
destroyed the morals and the religion of 
the people, had introduced "skepticism, 
atheism, and debauchery," and the in- 
troduction of manufactures, the nat- 
uralization of mechanics, in the South, 
would be attended with like evils and 
untold horrors. In vain did the friends 
of manufactures oppose to this a dif- 
ferent and more truthful picture. Mr. 
R. W. Roper of South Carolina, in an 
address in 1844 before the State Agri- 
cultural Society, urged : 

The effect of this diversity of lahor has heen 
to extend competence among the neighboring 
people, to improve their morals, intelligence, 
and education, and establish a more respectable 
order of society. These results have been dem- 
onstrated in Spartansburg and around many of 
our large manufacturing establishments. 

Said Mr. Tracey : 

The manufacturing business * * * * grows 
up a healthy population, is favorable to early 
schooling and good education and early habits 
of industry ; stimulates to enterprise, economy, 
and frugality in living and saving. The prod- 
ucts of their labor, and at the same time the or- 
ganizations of their establishments in villages, 
being necessary for success they are placed in a 
more favorable situation for the cultivation of 
moral and religious character, without which 
civilized man is still a savage, and a very limited 
degree of human happiness attained. 

Mr. Wm. Gregg, in his ''Essays on In- 
dustry," urged: 

It is only necessary to build a manufacturing 
village of shanties in a healthy location in any 
part of the State to have crowds of these poor 
people around you seeking employment at half 
the compensation given to operatives at the 
North. It is indeed painful to be brought in 
contact with such ignorance and degradation; 
but on the other hand it is pleasant to witness 
the change which soon takes place in the condi- 
tion of those who obtain employment. The 
emaciated, pale-faced children soon assume the 
appearance of robust health, and their tattered 
garments are exchanged for those suited to a 
better condition ; if you visit their dwellings 
you will find their tables supp ied with whole- 
some food ; and on the Sabbath, when the fe- 
males turn out in their gay colored gowns, you 
will imagine yourself surrounded by groups of 
city belles. 



And Hon. J. H. Lumpkin, of Georgia, 
in 1852, in a paper on the " Industrial 
Regeneration of the South," argued : 

It is objected that these manufacturing es 
tablishments will become the hotbeds of crime. 
* * * * But I am by no means ready to 
concede that our poor, degraded, half-fed, half- 
clothed, and ignorant population, without Sab- 
bath schools or any other kind of instruction, 
mental or moral, or without any just apprecia- 
tion of character, will be injured by giving them 
employment which will bring them under the 
oversight of employers, who will inspire them 
with self-respect by taking an interest in their 
welfare. 



THE TARIFF. 



193 



The "Edncat^l" or Planting Classes 
would have have no Education of 
the Masses— No Manufactures or Free 
Labor-Slavery the Only Cure 
for the Debased Condition of the Poor 
White— They Propose to Reduce the 
Poor White to Slavery— White Slavery 
justified by Divine Writ— Liberty for 
*l:e Tew, Slavery in Every Form for the 
Masses— Wretchedness and Ruin the 
Inevitable Results of Slavery and 
Free Trade. 

But these and other intelligent and 
humane spirits labored in vain. The 
-"educated classes" refused to be con- 
vinced. In their opinion the non-slave 
owning masses, the poor white freeman, 
like the negro, possessed naturally, but 
few, very few, of the highest attributes 
of humanity— very few of its rights, and 
none where thev conflicted with those 
of the "educated," or slave owning 
classes. Hence they would have no 
education of the masses— no introduc- 
tion or naturalization of manufactures 
or free labor in the South. But this dis- 
cussion and the advancing opinion of the 
a o e _the pressure of freedom and free 
institutions upon all sides of their 
-oligarchy — warned the " educated " 
leaders of Southern thought and action 
that they must adopt some measure to 
alter the condition of the non slave 
-owning freeman. What was it? They 
had established free-trade througu 
the tariff of 1846. They had struck tiie 
industries of the North a crushing blow, 
had ruined its capitalists and reduced 
thousands of its industrial masses to 
idleness and want, and now they en- 
tered the debate with a counter prop- 
osition for the relief or reform of the 
non - slaveholding white freeman's 
•condition. They insultingly proposed to 
degrade him into a slave. They urged 
that "slaverv would elevate him 
morallv, socially, and physically," 
.and possibly it would in the South; 
for, under the combined malign in- 
fluences of Slavery and Free Trade, 
he was wretchedly debased. They 
even maintained that "slavery was 
the natural and normal condition of 
the laborer!" They had previously 
onlv attempted the Justification of 
negro slavery upon the strength of 
Noah's curse of Canaan. They now 
wholly changed the defense of the in- 
stitution. Mr. Fitzhugh, of Virginia, 
that " conservative " leader of the pro- 
slavery " educated classes," that bril- 
liant leader of Southern thought and 
action, boldly announced : 

We do not adopt the theory that Ham was 
the ancestor of the negro race. The Jewish 
slave* were not negroes and to confine the justi- 
fication of slavery to that race, would he to 
■weaken its scriptural authority and to lose the 
-whole weight of profane authority, tor we read 
of no nesrro slavery in ancient time-s. * * 



" Slavery, black or tehite, is right and neces- 
sary." 

Fitzhugh declared : " Our negroes arw 
not only better off as to physical comfoit 
than free laborers, but their moral con- 
dition is better." " Two hundred years 
of liberty have made white laborers a 
pauper banditta. Free society has 
failed, and that which is not free must 
be substituted." 

Hon. L. M. Keitt, of South Carolina, 
in the House of Representatives, grave- 
ly stated: 

"Slavery is a great primordial fact, rooted in 
the origin of things <"**** "As a corol- 
lary to this, it may he safely deduced that the 
existence of [white] laborers and mechanics in 
organized soeieties was the result of the partial 
and progressive emancipation of slaves."' * * 
* * "History tells us also that when the [white] 
working classes stepped out of hondage tliey 
branched into four recurring subdivisions— the 
HIRELING, the BEGGAR, the THIEF, and the 
PROSTITUTE, which have no general existence 
in slave countries luiless (h^re have been a com- 
mencement of emancipation. 

And these, the Richmond Enquirer 
declared, in 1860, were the doctrines 
of the whole Southern Democratic 
press. Hence, in their opinion, the 
only possible reform was that of re- 
ducing the workingman to slavery. 
Accordingly Mr. Ruffin (in his "Po- 
litical Economy of SUivei-y") and 
Mr. Fitzhugh (in "Cannibals All, or 
Who shall be Masters ?") elaborated 
what to them appeared very practical 
plans for the accomplishment of this 
philanthropic object. Mr. Fitzhugh 
says that a negro slave is worth about 
8800, but a white slave, by reason of his 
harder working nature, would be worth 
81,000. Give, therefore, the capitalist 
owning 81,000 one white slave, the 
capitalist owning 810,000 ten white 
slaves, and the millionaire a thousand. 
He exclaims : 

LIBERTY for the FEW ; SLAVERY in 

every form for the MASSES. 



PART XII. 

The So-called Morr isonTar- 
iff of 1876— Prepared by 
the English Cob den Club 
for the Ruin of American 
Industry — Supported in 
House by the Democrats, 
but Beaten by the Repub- 
licans. 

Mr. Morrison, of Illinois, Democratic 
Chairman of Committee of Ways and 
Means, moved in the House in 1876, a 



^^ 



194 



THE TARIFF. 



tariff bill which in the effect of its pro- 
visions, if it had passed, would have ru- 
ined our leading industries, have de- 
stroyed our business prosperity and 
caused widespread suffering and want 
among all ranks and classes of our peo- 

Sle. A few extracts from the speecn of 
^on. Jay A. Hubbell, upon this bill, 
will show its origin and provisions and 
expose its purpose : 

The so-called Morrison tariff, manufactured in 
New York city, by order of the Free Trade 
League, under the inspiration of the American 
members of the English Cobden Club, strikes 
directly at the policy of protection, and aims a 
death blow at many of our important industries, 
while none of them are allowed to escape its 
crippling influences. 

Rates of Reduction of Duties. 

On cotton, unbleached, from 5 cents to 2$ cents 

per square yard. 
On cotton, bleached, from 5£ cents to 3£ cents 

per square yard of the ordinary sizes and forms. 
On iron, rolled, one-half, bar iron being placed 

at one-half cent per yound. 
Pig iron reduced froni $7 to $5 per ton, or about 

30 per cent. ; or in other word-, on iron and 

steel from 30 to 50 per cent. 
On lead and manufactures of lead from 30 to 50 

per c-nt. 
On copper in plates, bars, ingots and pigs the 

duties are reduced from 5 cents per pound to 2 

cents. Copper ore transferred to the free list. 
On silk and silk goods — 

On goods paying 35 per cent, reduced to 25 
40 " " 30 

" " 50 and 60 " 40 

Wools, first and second class reduced about 50 

per cent. 
Marble, in blocks and slabs, reduced from 50 to 

30 cents per cubic foot. 
Pencils and pens, &c, <fec, &c. 

Analysis of the Morrison Bill. 

The analysis of the Morrison tariff, under a 
comparison with the rates of duty in 1876, gives 
the following results : 
Decrease of duty froni the actual 

receipts of the fiscal year 1875, $18, 454,081.72 

Add amount of duties not collected 

during eight months and three 

days under the proviso is "'less 

10 per cent."— 

Cotton goods $ 700,907.04 

Iron and steel. 3,591,465.69 

Copper 3,190.16 

Lead 545,887.23 

Wool 2,863,551.40 

7,705,001.52 

26,159,083.24 
Increase of duty. 20,038,580.85 

Decrease of duty 6,120 : 502.39 

Taxing the Poor Man's Breakfast Ta- 
ble. 

It will be observed that the increase of duty is 
not upon goods now paying duties, but mainly 
npon tea and coffee, which are now admitted free 
of duty, and ever ought to be, so long as they 
do not come into competition with home pro- 
ducts of the same articles. The amount of duty 
proposed to be collected from those two items is 
$19,216,701.14. So in future, if the proposed [Mor- 
rison] tariff goes into operation, the poor man's 
family will be taxed heavily for these two im- 
portant articles of daily consumption. 



Outside Tea and Coffee, Increased Du- 
ties Only $821,879, while Decrease for 
the year Over $26,000,000. 

Aside from the tax proposed to be levied on 
tea and coffee the increased duties amount to* 
only $821,879.71, while the decrease for the year- 
is over $26,000,000. Practically, however, even 
if tea and coffee should not be taxed, there will 
be little or no decrease in the aggregate receipts. 
The duties from the increase of importations,, 
now unusually large, will overcome the reduc- 
tions proposed in the tariff, and in a very few 
years return a larger custom revenue than that 
now collected. The Morrison tariff is an invi- 
tation to foreign manufacturers to surfeit our 
markets with imported wares, and the oppor- 
tunity will be promptly ombraoed. The exten- 
of its evil tendencies can scarcely be measured 
and the country now appeals to the wisdom of 
this Congress to save the people from a practic- 
al realization of its fearful consequences. 



PART XIII. 

Ilui* d's Resolutions in I88O 
for the Restoration of I lie 
Free Trade Tariff of 1846. 

TarifT Duties a Tax upon the Consumer- 
—Protection d:»es Biot Protect— It does 
Not Increase the Wages of I^abor— It- 
Builds up One Citizen at the Expense 
of Another— It Violates the Principles 
of Free Trade — It has Oestroyed our 
Carrying- Trade on the Higii Seas — It 
Promotes Smuggling- —It Shuts Out 
the American Manufacturer from the 
Markets of the World — Down with 
all Protection to American Industry 
—Up with the Proslavery Free Trade 
Tariff of 1846. 

On December 6, 1880, in the House of 
Representatives, Mr. Hurd, of Ohio, from 
the Committee on Ways and Means, in- 
troduced the following joint resolution r 

Resolved by the Senate and Hmise of Represen- 
tatives of the United^ States of AmetHea in Con- 
gress assembled. That any tariff levied by the 
Congress should be regulated by the following 
principles : 

First. A tariff is a tax upon imported goods, 
which is ultimately paid by the consumer, ae 
the importer always adds to the selling price 
the amount of duty paid ; being a tax paid by 
the citizen, it ought, therefore, not to be im- 
posed except to provide revenue for the Gov- 
ernment, and only that tariff ought to be levied, 
wkich will with the least burden to the people 
provide the necessary revenue. 

Second. A tariff for protection, so called, does; 
not in most ca-.es protect the interest it pre- 
tends to foster; while at first it may bring large 
profits to those engaged in the manufacturing 
which is assumed to be protected, it soon, by 
these very profits, invites many person* into- 
the business, from which result overproduction, 
overstocking of the market, low prices, reduc- 
tion of the hours of labor, shutting down, at 
least temporarily, of the workshops, embarrass- 
ment to the proprietor, and, in many instances, 
final bankruptcy, in which the lar^e profits 
made at first are swallowed up, and the large 
wages at first paid w r orkingmen, if saved up at 
all, are consumed in waiting for a busin ss re- 
vival, which, if it does come, will inevitably be 
attended by the same consequences. 



THE TARIFF. 



195 



Third. A protective tariff does not increase the 
wages of workingmen, as demonstrated bj r the 
following facts: "First, in England since the 
policy of free trade has been adopted the wages 
of laborers have been higher than when the sys- 
tem of protection prevailed; second, in Ger- 
nuanv, where there is a protective tariff, the 
wages are lower than in countries without tariff, 
or with a tariff for revenue only; and, third, the 
average wages of the American laborer since 
the adoption of the present tariff have for the 
ten years last past been less (allowing for the 
difference in the currency) than under a reve- 
nue tariff for the ten years preceding eighteen 
hundred and sixty. 

Fourth. A protective tariff builds up one cit- 
izen at the expense of another, for every dollar 
of additional price the protection enables the 
manufactui ex to charge must bepaid by another • 
citizen. Such a discrimination against one and 
in favor of another a government onght not to ! 
make. A protective tariff which protects une- i 
qually works injustice. A protective tariff 
which protects all equally is superfluous, for 
if all are equally protected they are in precisely 
the same situation as though they had received 
no protection at all. 

Fifth. A protective tariff disturbs the opera- 
tion of the primal law of trade which governs 
all exchanges by the supply and demand of the 
articles to be exchanged, and openly and shame- 
lessly violates the principle that every man has 
a right, subject only to governmental necessi- 
ties, to buy where be can buy the cheapest and 
sell where he can get the best i rice. 

Sixth. Tht^ present protective tariff has driven 
the American carrying trade from the high seas, 
by enhancing the price of the materials which 
enter into the construction of vessels so that 
American ship-builders cannot compete with 
foreigners engaged in the same business. 

Seventh. A protective tariff increa-ses the pos- 
sibilities of the crime of smuggling, which, with 
our extensive water frontier and weak Navy, it 
is impossible to prevent, and by the commission 
of which dishonest men are made rich by vio- 
lating the law, and honest men are made poor 
by obeying it. 

Eighth . A protective tariff shuts out the Amer- 
ican manufacturer from the markets of the 
world. Mexico and South Ameri ca are supplied 
with their manufactured goods by England. 
Our best interests demand that the protective 
barrier our legislation has erected shall be broken 
down, that American pkill and enterprise may 
have an opportunity to compete with foreign 
manufactures everywhere. Our manufactures 
need more an increase of market, by which for- 
eign capital can be brought into this country, 
than protective legislation, which takes mon«y 
from one American pocket to put it into another. 

Ninth. To the end that the present tariff shall 
become one for revenue only, the following 
changes should be made : First, on all dutiable 
articles producing little or no revenue to the 
government, the duty should be returned to a 
reveuue basis, or they should be placed upon 
the free list ; second, the duty upon tea and cof- 
fee should be restored, and to the extent that 
this duty produces revenue to the Government 
the duty should be removed from salt and cloth- 
ing, and other articles indispensably necessary 
in domestic life. 



The Resolution a Stump Speech in fa- 
vor of the Ruinous Free Trade Tariff 
of 1846— The duty on imported articles 
not a Tax 'on the Consumer— Protec- 
tion by excluding the Foreign article 
and Stimulating: Home Competition 
reduces price of Domestic Article — 
Figures and Facts in illustration of 
that— Like the wood Tariff Bill this 
Hard Resolution proposed the Ruin 
of all our Domestic Industries in the 



interest of the British Trader and 
Southern Brigadiers. 

This resolution, in its language and 
propositions, was manifestly intended as 
a stump speech in favor or the ruinous 
free trade tariff of 1846. But Mr. Hurd 
misstates the facts. His fundamental 
proposition is grossly false. The duty 
upon the imported article is not a tax 
upon the consumer. As a rule the duty 
is not added to the cost of manufacture, 
but by practically excluding the foreign 
article, and stimulating home competi- 
tion, which is one of the effects of pro- 
tection, the cost to the consumer of the 
domestic article has been greatly re- 
duced. Again and again has that fact 
been demonstrated in the House, in 
Mr. Kurd's presence. 

Indeed, Mr. Hurd's series of proposi- 
tions is simply a revamping of the old 
and exploded pro-slavery free trade 
theories of the notorious Colleton Ad- 
dress. They consequently embrace no- 
thing new. They simply restate a few 
of the many wretched fallacies in which 
the pro-slavery free traders, those old 
seditious and traitorous enemies of la- 
bor and the nation, delighted in discuss- 
ing the tariff— like the one invented by 
the famous Hayne, that "a tariff on iui- 

Eorts was a tax on exports," &c. They 
ave no foundation upon whicli they 
can be maintained, but are opposed by 
our own experience and that of all na- 
tions — by the stern logic of facts whicli 
proclaim that their adoption every- 
where has been uniformly attended by 
ruin alike of people and nation. 

We will give a few illustrations from 
the speech of Mr. Duell, of New York, 
in the House, of April 13, 1872. Mr. 
Duell says : 

Before the manufacture of window-glass was 
protected it cost the consumer $12 a box. A 
heavy duty was laid upon it by the tariff of 
1842, (which, according to the free-trade theory, 
ought largely to have increased its price,) when, 
behold, the price fell to $3. Whose theory did 
this establish 1 According to the theory of free 
trade here was a result perfectly mysterious 
and unaccoun table. On the principles of pro- 
tection the thing was perfectly plain. As soon 
as the duty imposed secured a market to the 
American manufacturers of glass, they went to 
work with all iheir force, each Peeking his own 
profit, and all free to make and sell it as they 
could, when the astonishing power of competi- 
tion soon effected the great reduction in price. 

In 1844 the duty on English common bar-iron 
was $25 per ton or 68 per cent., and its price was 
then $61.83 per ton. The price less the duty would 
leave $36.63 as the cost of producing a ton of 
iron. In 1846 the duty was lowered to 30 per 
cent, and in 1857 to 24 per cent. According to 
the free-trade theory the result of this reduc- 
tion of the tariff should have been to reduce the 
price of iron just to the extent of the decreasein 
duty. But the fact is quite different, as the fol- 
lowing comparison will prove : in 1844, as we 
have seen, the duty on English bar-iron was $25 
a ton and the prime cost was $36.83. In 1846 the 
duty was reduced to 30 per cent., or more than 
one-half, which was equal to a duty of $10.42 per 
ton instead of $25. The price of iron ought 
therefore to have gone down to $26.41, or to 



196 



THE TARIFF. 



$36.83 less the $10 42 duty, if the free-traders are 
right in their theories. Bat instead of this the 
cost of production actually increased to $54.80 
per ton, an advance of $17.97 per ton. 

And so on in many other illustrations 
of these f acts.— (See Mr. DuelVs speech in 
Cong. Record, &c.) 

Like the Wood free trade tariff bill of 
1878, this Hurd joint resolution was in- 
troduced at the command of the En- 
glish Cobden club and the Southern 
Brigadiers, and their purposes were 
very plain— to strike down the indus- 
tries of the nation, and to impoverish 
all ranks and classes of our loyal peo- 
ple—all to open a market to the British 
trader, and to secure cheap products to 
their allies in war and peace, the South- 
ern Brigadiers. 



PART XIV. 

Knit Goods — I>uty on Wool- 
en Goods. 

Amendment to Correct Error in Stat- 
ute — All Ready - Made Clothing, of 
Whatever Material Composed, except 
Wool, Silk, and Linen, to toe subject 
to a Duty of 35 Per Centum Ad Va- 
lorem—Statute and Report of Com- 
mittee. 

On July 3, 1882, Mr. Kelley, of Penn- 
sylvania, moved to suspend the rules 
&nd pass the following bill : 

A bill to correct an error in section 2504 of the 
Revised Statutes of the United States. 

Be it enacted, dc., That the paragraph begin- 
ning with the words "clothing, ready-made, and 
wearing-apparel," under Schedule M of section 
25 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, 
be, and the same is hereby, amended by the in- 
sertion of the word "wool" before the word 
"silk" in two places where it was omitted in the 
revision of the said statutes ; so that the same 
shall read as follows : 

" Clothing, ready-made, and wearuig-apparel 
of every description, of whatever material com- 
posed, except wool, silk, and linen, made up or 
manufactured wholly or in part by the tailor, 
seamstress, or manufacturer, not otherwise pro- 
vided for, caps, gloves, leggins, mitts, socks, 
stockings, wove shirts and drawers, and all sim- 
ilar articles made on frames, of whatever mate- 
rial composed, except wool, silk, and linen, worn 
by men, women, or children, and not otherwise 
provided for, articles worn by men, women, or 
children, of whatever material composed, ex- 
cept wool, i-ilk, and linen, made up, or made 
wholly or in part by hand, not otherwise pro- 
vided for, 35 per cent, ad valorem." 

The Committee of Ways and Means, 
through its chairman, Mr. Kelley, in re- 
porting this bill to the House, on the 6th 
of June, used the following language : 

The purpose of the first section of this bill is 
to correct an error made in revising the Stat- 
ute , which error is found in a paragraph near 
the bottom of page 474 of the Revised Statutes, 
edition of 1878. This paragraph is found in 
.Schedule M, called sundries, of the tariff law. 



Schedule L provides for all duties on wool and 
woolen goods, and is a re-enactment and embodi- 
ment of the statute of March 2, 1867, which re- 
pealed all former duties on wools and woolen 
goods, and imposed pound duties on wools, and 
corresponding pound duties on woolen goods ; 
the object being to set off one pound duty 
against the other, and, in addition, 35 per cent, 
on the manufactured article. The revision on 
page 471 is the act of March 2, 1867. word for 
word, whith imposed duties in lieu of all former 
duties on wools and woolen goods. This stat- 
ute provides as follows : 

" Flannels, blankets, hats of wool, knit goods, 
balmorals, woolen and worsted yarns, and all 
manufactures of every description composed 
wholly or in part of worsted, the hair of the al- 
paca, goat, or other like animals, except such 
as are composed in part of wool, not otherwise 
provided for, valued at not exceeding 40 cents 
per poimd. 20 cents per pound ; valued at above 
40 cents per pound, and not exceeding 60 cents 
per pound, 30 cents per pound ; valued at above 
60 cents per pound, and not exceeding 80 cents 
per pound, 40 cents per pound ; valued at above 
80 cents per pound, 50 cents per pound ; and, in 
addition thereto, upon all the above-named arti- 
cles, 35 per cent, ad valorem.'* 

The duties above prescribed were made to 
correspond with the value of the goods, and,the 
higher-priced woolen goods were made to pav a 
duty of 50 cents per pound. These rates were 
collected prior to and since the revision of the 
statutes down to the decision of the United 
States Supreme Court in the case of Vietor and 
others against C. A. Arthur, collector of the port 
of New York, rendered about fifteen months 
ago. 

"The paragraph in which the error occurs is 
found in Schedule L of the tariff laws, and reads 
as follows : 

" Clothing, ready made, and wearing apparel 
of every description, of whatever material com- 
posed, except wool, silk, and linen, made up or 
manufactured wholly or in part by the tailor, 
seamstress, or manufacturer, not otherwise pro- 
vided for, caps, gloves, leggins, mitts, socks, 
stockings, wove shirts and drawers, and all sim- 
ilar articles made on frames, of whatever mate- 
rial composed, except silk and linen, worn by 
men, women, or children, and not otherwise pro- 
vided for, articles worn by men, women, or 
children, of whatever material composed, ex- 
cept silk and linen, made up or made wholly or 
in part by hand, not otherwise provided for, 35 
per cent, ad valorem." 

It will be noticed that the word " wool " is 
found in the first exception of the above para- 
graph, but is omitted from the other two excep- 
tions included in the same paragraph, and it is 
plain that the three exceptions were intended 
to exclude all ai'ticles of wearing apparel made 
of wool, silk, or liuen from the rate of duty 
levied by the paragraph. The clause whien 
causes the hardship on American manufactures 
of knit goods is found in the paragraph of 
Schedule M, above quoted, and reads as follows : 
" Caps, gloves, leggins, mitts, socks, stockings, 
wove shirts a»d drawers and all similar arti- 
cles made on frames, of whatever material coin- 
posed," <fcc. 

There was no exception of wool, silk, or linen 
in the original paragraph, because the law had 
not yet been passed that exoepted them ; but 
by the act of June 30, 1864, a special provision 
was made for these articles on pages 208, 209, 
210, volume 13, Statues at Large. By the act of 
June 30, 1864, wool, silk, and linen goods wvre 
excepted, and this paragraph applied to cotton 
goods alone, and should baj/e been placed in the 
revision in the cotton Schedule A. The revisers 
recognized the fact as to silk and linen, and 
begun right with wool in the first exception, 
but neglected it in the second and third excep- 
tions. The act of MarcU 2. 1867, page 561, vol- 
ume 14, Satute at Large, provides for all man- 
ufactures of woolen goods. 

The Democracy resisted the passage 



THE TARIFF. 



197 



of the bill by every means within their 
power— by debate m hostility to its par- 
pose, by nullifying amendments, and 
finally by their votes. 

The House passes the Bill— Yeas 1JM, 
Nays 48, 

YEAS.— Messrs. Aldrich, Anderson, Athrrton, 
Barr, Bayne, Belford, Bingham, Bisbee. Bliss, 
Bowman, J. H. Brewer, Briges, Browne, Brumm, 
Buck, Burrows, Julius C. ; Butberworth, Campbell, 
Candler, Cannon, Carpenter, Caswell, Chaoe, 
Converse, Crapo, Vurtin, Dawes, Deering, DeMotte, 
Dezendorf, Dingley, Dwight, Ermtntroui, Errett, 
Far well, Sewell 8.; Fisher, Ford, Frost, Fulker6on, 
Gcddes, George, Gibson, Hall, Hammond, J.; 
Harmer, Harri*. Benjamin W.; Harris, Henry S.; 
Haskell, Hazeltou, Henderson, Hepburn, Hill, 
Hiscock. HoUiizell, Horr, Hubbell, Hubbs, Hum- 
phrey, Jacobs, Jorgensen, Kasson, K*lley, Ketcu- 
am, Klolz, Lacey, LadcL, Lewis, Lord, Lynch, 
Mason, McCook, McKin ley. JicLane, Mile*, Moore, 
Morey, Mosgrove, Mutclder, Neal, O'Neill. Orth, 
Page, Parker, Paul. Peelle, Peiroe, Pettibone, 
Phelps, Prescott, Ranney, Buy, Rice, John B.; 
Ritchie, Robeson, Robinson, George D.; Robinson, 
James S.; Robinson, William E.; Ross, Russell, 
Ryan, Sera ton, Sliallenberger, Shelley, Shultz, 
Smith, A. Herr, Smith, D. C; Smith, J. H.; Spaul- 
ding, Spooner, Steele, Stone, Talboit, Taylor, 
Thompson, Tillrman, Townnend, Amos; Tyler, 
Updegraff, J. T.; Updegraff, T.; Urner, Valentine, 
Van Horn, VVadsworth, Wait. Walker, West, White, 
Williams, W. Uis, Wilson, Wise, if. R.; Young— 134. 

NAYS.— Messrs. Atkins, Berry, Blackburn, Blount, 
Buchanan, Buckner, Carlisle, Casakty, Ciements, Cobb, 
Colerick, Cook, Cox, Samuel S.; Cravens, Culberson, 
Davidson, Daris, Lowndes, H.; Dibrell, Dunnell, 
Forney, Gunter, Hewitt, G. W. : Holman, House, 
Jones, George W.; Jones, James K.; Knott, Le Feme, 
Manning. Martin, Matson,McMillin, Mills, Morrison, 
Oates, Phister, Reagan, Rosficrans, Springer, Stock- 
sla g er, Strait, Thompson, P. B. jr.; l\rwnshend,R. W.: 
Tucker, Turner, Henry G.; Turner. Oscar; Warner, 
Wellborn, WMU.-4&. 

The Senate passes the Bill— Yeas 36, 
Nays 15. 

Y^eas— Messrs. Aldrich, Allison, Anthony, 
Bayard, Blair, Brown, Cameron of Pennsylva- 
nia, Cameron of Wisconsin, Chilcott, Conger, 
Davis of Illinois, Davis of West Virginia, 
Dawes, Ferry, Gorman, Hale, Harrison, Haw ley , 
Hoar, Ingalls, Jonas, Jones ofNevada, Logan, 
McDill, McMillan, Mahoxe, Miller of California, 
Morrill, Pendleton, Piatt, Rollins, Saunders, 
Sawyer. Sewell, Sherman, Windoin— 36. 

Nays— Messrs. Butler, Call, Cockrell, CoJce, 
Farley, George, Hampton, Harris, Maxey, 
Morgan, Pugh, Sautebury, Test, Wat Jeer, Wiu- 
iams—15. 



PART XV. 
Tariff Commission. 

Commission to consist of 9 Members to 
be Appointed by President — Duty to 
investigate all questions relating to 
the Agricultural, Commercial, Mer. 
cantile, Manufacturing, Mining, and 
Industrial Interests of the United 
States, in connection with a Judicions 
Tariff, or a Revision of the Present 
Tariff, and Report to Congress on First 
Monday of 1882. 

AN ACT to provide for the appointment of a 
commission to investigate the question of the 
tariff. 



Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- 
resentatives of the United States of America, xn 
Congress assembled, That a commission is 
hereby created to be called the "Tariff Commis- 
sion," to consist of nine members. 

Sec. 2. That the President of the United States 
shall, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, appoint nine commissioners from civil 
life, one of whom, the first named, shall be the 
president of the commission. The commission- 
ers shall receive as compensation for their ser 
vices each at the rate of ten dollars per day 
•when engaged in active duty, aud actual travel- 
ing and other necessary expenses. The com- 
mission shall have power to employ a stenog- 
rapher and a messenger; and the foregoing 
compensation and expenses to be audited and 
paid by the Secretary of the Treasury out of 
any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise ap- 
propriated. 

Sec. 3. That it shall be the duty of said com- 
mission to take into consideration and to 
thoroughly investigate all the various questions 
relating to the agricultural, commercial, mer- 
cantile, manufacturing, mining, and industrial 
interests of the United States, so far as the same 
may be necessary to the establishment of a ju- 
dicious tariff, or a revision of the existing tariff, 
upon a scale of justice to all interests; and for 
the purpose of fully examining the matters 
which may come before it, said commission, in 
in the prosecution of its inquiries, is empowered 
to visit such different portions and sections of 
the country as it may deem advisable. 

Sec. 4 That the commission shall make to 
Congress final report of the results of its inves- 
tigation, and the testimony taken in the course 
of the same, not later than the first Monday of 
December, eighteen hundred and eighty-two ; 
and it shall cause the testimony taken to be 
printed from time to time and distributed to 
members of Congress by the Public Printer, 
and shall also cause to be printed for the use of 
Congress two thousand copies of its final re- 
port, together with the testimony. 

The passage of this bill was resisted at 
every step by the Democracy, by multi- 
plying amendments, by debate in which 
they denounced the principle and prac- 
tice of protection, and by their votes at 
every stage of its progress. 

The House Passes the Bill May 6, 1882— 
Yeas 151, Xays 83. 

Yeas — Messrs. Aldrich. Anderson, Aiherton, Bar- 
bour, Barr, Bayne, Bingham, Bliss, Bowman, Brew- 
er, Briggs, Browne, Brumm, Buck, Burrows, J. C; 
Burrows, Jos. H; Butterworth. Calkins, Camp r 
Campbell, Candler, Cannon, Carnenter, Chace r 
Chapman, Clardu, Crapo, Cullen, Curtin, Darrall, 
Dawes, Deering, DeMotte, Dezendorf", Dinglev, 
Dwight,EWs.^nn,e7i£rot^,Errett,Farwell,C.B;Ford, 
George, Gibson, Godshalk, Grout, Guenther. Hall, 
Harmer, Harris, H. S.; Haseltine, Haskell, Hawk, 
Hazleton, Heilman, Henderson, Hepburn, Hewitt. 
G. W.; Hill, Hiscock, HoblitzeV.Hoge, Horr, Hub- 
bell, Hubbs, Humphrey, Jacobs, Jones, P.; Jorgen- 
sen .Joyce, Kasson, Kelly, Kenna, Ketch&m, Kiotz, 
Lacey, Lewis, Lord, Lynch, Marsh, McClure,McKin- 
ley, McLane, Miller, 8 K. ; Moore, Morse, Morey, 
Mosgrove, March, Mutchler, Neal, Norciross, O'Neill, 
Pacheco, Page, Payson, Peele, Pierce, Pound, 
Prescott, Randall,' Rannev, Rav, Reed, Rice, 
T. M.; Rice, W. W.; Rich, Ritchie, Robin- 
son, G. D.; Robinson, J. S.; Ross, Ryan, 
Russell, Scovdle, Scranton, Shallenberger, 
Shelley, Sherwin, Shultz, Skinner. Smith, A. Herr; 
Smith, J. H.; Speer , Spooner, Steele, Stone, E. F.; 
Strait, Talbott,, Taylor. Thomas, Thorn nson.W. G.; 
Townsend, A.; Tyler, Updegraff, J. T.; Upson, Val- 
entine, Van Horn, Van Vorhis, Wadsworth, Wait, 
Walker, Ward, Watson, Webber, White, J. D. 
Williams, C. G.; Williits. Wilson, Wise. G. D.; 
Wise, M.R:; Wood, W.; Young, T. L— 151. 

Nays — Messrs. Aiken, Atkins, Armfield, Beach, 
Belford, Belmont, Bellzhoover, Berry, Bland, Blount, 



198 



THE TARIFF. 



Brag j, Buchanan, Buckner,CaldweU,Carlisle, Clark, 
Clements J. C ': Cobb, Oolerick, Cook,Cnx,S.S.i Cox.W. 
B.; Cravens Culberson, Cutts, Davidson, Davis. L. 
Ha Deader. Dibble, D<nvd,Dunn, Dunm-ll .Emm. Far- 
well, S. S.; Ftnley, Forney, Gnrrisim.Gunter. Him 
mond.N.J.; Hardenbergti, Hatch, Herbert, Herndon, 
Hewitt, Abram S. ; House, Jones, J. K.; King, Knott, 
Latham, Leedom, J.eFevre, Manning, Matson Mc- 
Coiri, McKenzie, McMillin, Mills, Money, Morrison, 
Moullon, Muldrow, Oates, Orth, Bhister, Beagan, 
Scalrs, Shack>efoi-d, Singleton. Otho B.; Springer, 
Stocks/ager, Thompson, P. B. jr.; Tillman, Town- 
send, R. W.; Tucker, Turner (Oscar); Updegraff, T.; 
Vance, Warner, R.; Washburn, Wellborn, Whit- 
home, Williams, T;; Willis— 83. 

The Senate Passes the Bill May 9, 1S82— 
Yeas 35, Says 19. 

Yeas— Messrs. Aldrich, Allison, Anthony, 
Blair 1 , Cameron of Wisconsin, Conger, Dams of 
W. st Virginia, Dawes. Frye, Gorman, Groome, 
Hale. Hampton, Hawley, Hill of Colorado, 
Boar, Johnston, Jones of Nevada, Kellogg, Lap- 
ham, MeDill, McMillan, McBherson, Mahone, 
Miller of California, Miller of New York, Mitch- 
ell, Morrill, Piatt, Rollin-j, Sawyer, Sewell, Sher- 
man, Windom— 35. 

Nays— Messrs. Call, Cockrell, Coke, Davis of 
Illinois. Farley, George, Grover, Harris, Tngalls, 
Jackson, Jonas, Maxey, Morgan, Bugh, Slater 
Vance, Van Wyck, Test. Walker— 19. 



PART XVI. 

Mr. Mills' (of r.a.,) Free 
Trade Amendment t o 
Tariff Commission Bill- 
Attempts to Tacit Free 
Trade Tariff of 1846 to 
Bill. 

On May 6, while the Tariff Commission 
Bill was pending- in the House, Mr. 
Vlills of Louisiana moved the following 
amendment to the bill : 

1. That no more money should be collected 
than is necessary for the wants of the Govern- 
ment economically administered. 

2. That no duty be imposed on any article 
above the lowest rate that will yield the largest 
amount of revenue. 

3. That below such rate discrimination may 
be made descending in the scale of duties, or 
for imperative reasons the article may be placed 
on the list of those free from all duty. 

4. That the maximum revenue duty should be 
imposed on luxuries. 

5. That all specific duties should be abolished 
and ad valorem duties substituted in then- 
place, care being taken to guard against fraud- 
ulent invoices and undervaluation, and to assess 
the duty upon the actual market value. 

6. That the duty should be so imposed as to 
operate as equally as possible throughout the 
Union, discriminating neither for nor against 
any class or section. 

This amendment embraces practically 
the principles and provisions of the 
Free Trade Tariff of 1846, and for that 
75 Democrats voted as follows : 

House refuses to adopt Amendment- 
Yeas 75, Xays 152. 

Yeas— Messrs. Aiken, Armfleld, Atkins, Beach, Bel- 
mont, Berry, Bland, Blount, Bracg, Buchanan, 



Buckner, Caldwell, C'uiisl<; Chapman, J. B. 
Clark, J. C. Clements, Cobb, Oolerick, Cook, S. S. Cox,, 
W. B. Cox, Covington, Cravens, Culberson, Davidson, 
L. H. Davis, Deuster, Dibble, Dowd, Dunn, Evins, 
Finlerj, Forney, Garrison, Gunter, N. J. Hammond, 
Hatch, Herbert, Herndon, Hoblitzell, House, J. K. 
Jones, Knott. Laihwn, Leedom, LeFevre, Manning, 
Matson, McKsnzie, McKane, McMillin. Mills, Money, 
Morrison, Moulton, Muldrow, Murch, Oate*, Bhister, 
Beagan, Scales. Shaekelford, O. R. Singleton. Stocks- 
lager, Talbolt, Tillman, B. W. Toumsend, Tucker, 0. 
Turner, Vance, B. Warner, Wellborn, Whitthorne, T. 
Williarm, Willis— 75. 

Nays— Mewr.i W. Aldrich, Barbour, Barr, Bayne, 
Belford, Bingham, Bliss, Bowman, J. H. Brewer. 
Briargs. Browne, Brumm, Buck, J. H. Burrows, J. 
C. Burrows, ButWrworth, Cilkins, Cams Camp- 
bell, Canriler/Cannon, Carpenter, Clardy. Crapo, 
Cullen, Chrlin, Cutts, Darrall, Dawes, Deeriug, 
DeMott, Dezendorf, Dinglev, Dunnell. D wight, 
Ellis, Ermentrout, Errett. C. B. Farwell, S. S. Far- 
well, Ford, George, Gibson, Godshalk, Grout, 
Guenther, Hall, Hardenbsrgh, Harmer, H. S. Harris, 
I. S. Haseltine, Haskell, Hawk, G. C. Hazelton, 
Heilman, Henderson, Hepburn. J. Hdl, Hiscock, 
Hoge, Horr, Hubbell, Hubbs, Humphrey, Jacobs, 
P. Jones, Jursrenson, Joyce, Kassou, Kelley, Kenna, 
Ketcham, Klotz, Licey, Lewis, Liudsey, Lord, 
Lynch, Marsh, McClure, McCoid, McKinley, S. H. 
Miller, Moore, Morev, Morse, Mosgrove, Mutchler, 
Nea!, Norcr^ss. O'Neill, Orth, Pachpco, Page, P.iy- 
son, Peele, Pierce, Pound. Pre>cott, Randall, Ran- 
ney, Ray, Heed, T. M. Rice, W. W. Rice, Rich, 
Ritchie, G. J). Kobinson, J.S.Robinson, Boss, W. 
A. Russell, T. Ryan, Scoville, Scranton, Shallenber- 
ger, Shdl"y, Sherwin, Shultz, Skinner, A. H. Smith, 
J. H. Smith, Speer, Spooner, G. W. Steele, E. F. 
Stone. Strait, Taylor, Thomas W. G. Thompson, A. 
Town-end, J. T. Undegraff, T. Updegraff, Upson, 
Urner, Valentine, Van Aernam, Van Horn, Van 
Voorhis, Wadsworth, Wait, Walker, Ward, Wash- 
burn, Watson, Webber, C. G. Williams. Willi s, 
Wilson, G D. Wise, M. B, Wise, W. A. Wood, T. L. 
Young— 152. 



PART XVII. 



Protection 
Sales and 
ricnlture. 



Increases the 
Profits of Ag- 



When Manufactures nourish, Agricul- 
ture is Prosperous — Montgredien's 
Fallacies— Products of the FarmPro- 
tectcd by present Tariff— How Agri- 
culture is Benefited by Protection— 
The Increased Ability of the Con- 
sumer to Buy worlts a Harvest of 
profits for the Farmers, «fcc. 

Hon. J. T. Updegraff, of Ohio, in the 
House of Representatives, in his Speech 
of April 12 and 13, ably shows the oene- 
iits to the farmer of protection. He 
says : 

Mr. Chairman, I have been a farmer all ray life 
and every year for thirty years have sold the 
products of the farm, when manufacturers 
were fully protected and flourishing I have 
never seen the time that judicious agriculture 
was not prosperous ; and when manufacturing 
under " revenue" tariff was crippled or broken 
down I never saw agriculture flourishing. Is 
there any gentleman in this House who has? 
Sometimes a certain product may be in demand 
temporarily, but the uniform rule is as I have 
stated it. If any member has seen it o:herwise, 
let him declare it. [Applause.] No; tne real 
and permanent industries of a people are al- 



THE TARIFF. 



199 



-ways in harmony andinterdependence with each 
otlier. Each member of a community profits 
toy an increase in the productive power of the 
whole body. That advantage is increased and 
multiplied by ©very increase in the diversity of 
employments. The farming interest above 
-every other is benefitted by this diversity which 
save the necessity of carrying bulky products 
to a distant market; for every intelligent far- 
oner knows that the man who is compelled to go 
to market must, in some way, pay the cost of 
going, and that the very first of all the charges 
paid, by labor or by land, is that for transpor- 
tation. 

But Mr. Montgredien says, in his Cobden Club 
' pamphlet, ''the farmer Neither receives nor seeks 
legislative protection." False again. He does 
both. The farmer has carefully and intelli- 
gently studied this question, not merely by 
theories of bookmen, but in the school of prac- 
tical affairs. He asks, and has received fair 
protection for his industries. It is just that he 
should, for many agricultural products are pro- 
duced in other countries by pauper labor, 
against which it would be a monstrous outrage 
that the American farmer should be forced to 
compete. Surely this English teacher could not 
be ignorant of the fact that protective duties 
are imposed on all the leading agricultural pro- 
ducts where protection is practicable . Ameri- 
can farmers know that these duties were laid to 
protect these articles in the home market, which 
consumes nearly 92 per cent, of all the products 
of the farm. 

It is not necessary to give a full catalogue of 
all these products and the dury on each, but I 
mention enough, taken from our tariff list, to 
show how cjarefully the interests of the fanner 
have been considered. The duty on Indian corn 
is 10 cents a bushel ; on wheat, 20 cents a bushel ; 
oats, 10 cents a bushel; barley, 15 cents a 
hushel ; rye, 15 cents a bushel ; peas and beans, 
10 to 20 per cent.; potatoes, 15 cents a bushel; 
hutter, i cents a pound; cheese, 4 cents a pound ; 
poultry, 10 per cent. ; sugar, 2 to 5 cents per 
pound; leaf- tobacco, 35 cents a pound: manu- 
factured tobacco, 50 cents a pound ; beef and 
pork, 1 cent a pound ; mutton, 10 cents a pound ; 
nay, 20 per cent. ; on all domestic animals ex- 
cept for breeding purposes, 20 per cent., but 
those for breeding purposes admitted free in 
the interest of fanning and stock-raising : wool, 
from 10 to 12 ceuts a pound, with from 10 to 12 
per cent, added. 

Not only is his interest thug protected but the 
farmer knows well that the protection to the 
-manufacturer benefit s him still more. He knows 
that when the great manufacturing industries 
of various kinds are active and flourishing that 
there is always a demand for all the variety of 
his products in the home market. He under- 
stands that the product or price of the great 
staples of wheat and corn a part of which may 
be exported, are no measure of the bene- 
fit to him of a home market n hich 
•consumes at ready prices the still more 
abundant and profitable products of the farm 
which cannot reach a distant or foreign market 
without great loss and many of them "not at all. 
The vicinity of a manufacturing town or of a 
manufacturing establishment, whether it be a 
rolling-mill, furnace, or factory, not only at 
once raises the price of every foot of his land, 
but gives him a daily market for the perishable 
and small products of the farm, such as fruit, 
daiiy products, vegetables, eggs, poultry, veal, 
mutton, hay, straw, fodder, berries, cord-wood, 
and a multitude of minor articles, thousands 
and millions of dollars' worth of which no ab- 
solute record can ever find its place in a na- 
tional balance-sheet, and these are the most 
profitable of the products of the farm. 

.Henry C. Carey, in his Harmony of In- 
terests, on the Benefit of Protection 
to Agriculture— The Home Market, 
*frc. 

3Ir. Henry C. Carey, an able writer on 



political economy, in his "Harmon yof In- 
terests, Agricultural, Manufacturing, and 
Commercial, ," (1872), thus ably proves the 
immense advantages and profits of pro- 
tection to the farmer : 

"Who, now, were the losers by the greatly in- 
creased difficulty of obtaining this great instru- 
ment [iron] of civilization] To answer this 
question, we must first inquire who are the great 
consumers of iron I The farmers and planters 
constitute three-fourths of the population of the 
nation, and if the loss were equally distributed, 
that portion of the loss would fall upon them ; 
but we shall find, upon inquiry that it is upon 
them, the producers of all we consume, that the 
whole of it must fall. 

The farmer needs iron for his spades and 
ploughs, his shovels and his dung-forks, his trace- 
chains and his horse-shoes, and his wagon-wheels; 
for his house, his barn, and his stable. He needs 
them, too, for his timber. If iron be abundant, 
saws are readily obtained, and the saw-miller 
takes his place by his side, and he has his timber 
converted into plank at the cost of less labour 
than was before required to haul the logs to the 
distant saw-mill. He obtains the use of null- 
saws cheap. If iron be abundant the grist-mill 
comes to his neighborhood, and now he has his 
grain converted into flour, giving for the work 
less grain than was before consumed by the 
horses and men employed in carrying it to the 
distant mill. If iron be abundant, spades and 
picks are readily obtained, and the roads are 
mended and he passes more readily to the dis- 
tant market. If iron increase in abundance, 
the railroad enables him to pass with increased 
facility, himself, his turnips and potatoes, to 
market from which before ue was entirely shut 
out by cost of transportation, except as regards 
articles of small bulk and mncli value — wheat 
and cotton. If iron l>e abundant, the woollen- 
mill comes, and his wool is converted on the 
spot by men who eat on the ground his cabbage 
and his veal, and drink his milk, and perform the 
work of conversion in return for services and 
things that would have been lost had they not 
been thus consumed. At each step he gets the 
use of iron cheaper — that is, at less cost of labour. 
If iron be abundant the cotton-mill now comes, 
and the iron road now brings the cotton, and his 
sons and his daughters obtahnthe use of iron 
spindles and iron looms by which they are ena- 
bled to clothe themselves at one-twentieth of 
the cost of labour that had been necessary but 
twenty years before. Instead of a yard of cotton 
received in return for two bushels of corn, one 
bushel of corn pays for six yards of cloth— and 
now it is that the fanner grows rich. 

A careful examination" of society will satisfy 
the enquirer that all the people engaged in the 
work of transportation, conversion, and ex- 
change, are but the agents of the producers, and 
live out of the commodities they produce, and 
that the producers grow rich or remain poor 
precisely as they are required to employ less or 
more persons in the making of their exchanges. 
The farmer who is compelled to resort to the 
distant mill employs many persons, horses and 
wagons, in the work of converting his grain into 
flour, and his land is of small value. Bring the 
mill close to him, and a single horse and cart, 
occasionally employed, will do the work. 

The farmer who employs the people of Eng- 
land to produce his iron, is obliged to have the 
services of numerous persons, of ships and wag- 
ons, and horses, to aid in the work. Bring the 
furnace to his side, and let his neighbour get 
out his iron, and he and his sons do much of the 
work themselves, furnishing timber, ore, and the 
use of horses, wagons, &c, when not needed 
on the farm. 

The man of Tennessee sends to market 300 bush- 
els of com, for which he receives in return one 
ton of iron, the money-cost of which is $60, but 
the labor-cost of which is the cultivation of ten 
acres of land. If he could follow his corn, he 
would find that the men who get out his iron, re- 



200 



THE TARIFF. 



ceive but 30 or 40 bushels, and that the remain- 
ing 260 or 270 ai*e s wallowed, up by the numerous 
transporters and exchangers that stand between 
himself and the men whom he thus employs. It, 
now, he could bring those men to his side, giving 
them double wages, Ray sixty bushels of corn, 
he would be a gainer to the extent of 240 bushels. 
"While he has to give 300 bushels, his iron is dear, 
and he can use little. When he obtains it for 60 
bushels it is cheap, and he uses much. His 
production increases, and his ability to use iron 
increases with it, and the demand for workers in 
iron increases, and all obtain food more readily, 
the consequence of which is that they have more 
to spare for clothing, and for other comforts or 
the luxuries of life. \pp. 80-81.] 



PART XVIII. 

Protection Greatly In- 
creases the Wages of La- 
bor. 

European and Native Authorities Show- 
ing that the the Wages under Protec- 
tion are Higher in the United States 
than in Europe in all Branches of In- 
dustry—The Figures and Facts— Refu- 
tation of Hurd's and the British Free- 
Traders' Silly Dogma that Protection 
does Mot Increase thej Wages of La- 
bor, ifcC 

Hon. Win. P. Frye, of Maine, in his 
speech in the United States Senate, of 
February 10, 1882, in reply to Southern 
Senators who reiterated the silly old pro- 
slavery dogma that protection does not 
increase the wages of labor, disposes of 
it in the following figures and facts: 

But the Senator from Texas denies that a tariff 
for protection secures fer the laborer higher 
wages than does " a purely revenue tariff." A 
most amazing declaration. In my hand is a 
hook entitled " The State of Labor in Europe," 
carefully prepared and printed under the au- 
thority of Congress, from "reports of U. S. Con- 
suls," and a work entitled " Labor in Europe 
and America," by Dr. Young, late chief of the 
United States Statistical Bureau, and I arer 
that in the cotton and woollen mills of England 
the average wages is one-half below the wages 
in the cotton and woollen mills of America 

But I do not rely upon these authorities alone. 
H. Conant, treasurer of the Conant Thread 
Co npany of Pawtucket, R. L, and also the owner 
of thread mills in Great Britain, writes me under 
date of January 19, 1882, that the " cost of buiding 
and equipping a cotton factory iu New Eng- 
land as compared with the cost of a similar 
structure in Lancashire or Scotland is just about 
double." Mr. Wyckoff, secretary 0? the Silk As- 
sociation of America, declares that " a silk fac- 
tory built in Coventry or Macclesfield of the 
same size and floor capacity as one here would 
cost about 60 to 65 per cent, as much." William 
Clark, superintendent Clark Thread Company 
of Newark, N. J., a company owning mills both 
here and in Great Britain, declares that a fac- 
tory, includingbuildingsandmachinery, erected 
in Newark " will cost 80 to 85 per cent, more 
than in Paisley." James Coats, of J. & P. Coats, 
the largest thread manufacturers in the world, 
and owuing and running mills here and abroad, 
declares that a factory would cost " fully twice 
as much to build here as in Scotland." 

I have here the Deutsche Industrie Zeitung, 
of June, 1881, the organ of the Chamber of Com- 
merce and Industry for Chemistry in Dresden, 



and regarded, I believe, as the highest authority 
in Europe. It shows . that the cost per spindle- 
of constructing mills in England is $5.79 to $7.78r- 
iu France, $8.69 to $9.65 ; in Germany, $8.69 to 
$9.65; while in the United States the cost is from; 
$12 to $18. 

Mr. President, what makes this difference in 
cost 1 It is because 90 per cent, of the cost is la- 
bor, and labor in Great Britain is paid only one- 
half as much as labor here. 

But, Mr. President, as to the wages of these 
operatives. The Clark Thread Mills of Newark, 
N. J., under date of January 25, 1882, furnish^ 
from their pay-rolls in Scotland and here the 
following comparative table of Avages: 



Employes. 



Girls : 

Spool ers 

Reeler* 

Cop-winders — 

Twisters 

Strippers 

Bobbin-cleaners 

Men: 

Capenters 

Machinists 

Dyers 

Bleachers 

Firemen 



Per Week. 



$3 50 to $3 75 

3 50 to 3 75 

3 50 to 

2 25 to 

150 to 

125 to 



3 75 
2 50 
175 



7 00 to 

7 00 to 

7 00 to 

650 to 

6 00 to 



7501 
750 
700 
650 
600 



Per Week. 

$7 00 to $9 00 
7 50 to 8 00 
7 50 to 8 50 
5 00 to 6 00- 
3 00 to 3 00 
2 50 to 2 50- 



16 50 to 18 00- 
16 50 to 18 00 
15 00 to 15 00 
13 50 to 13 50' 
12 00 to 13 00 



Mr. Coats, under date of Pawtucket, R. I. 
February 2, 1882, furnishes me the following 
comparative rates of wages paid in their facto- 
ries here and in Scotland: 



Operatives. 



Spoolers 

Twister-tenders 

Doffers 

Cleaners 

Reelers 

Winders 

Wrappers and Boxers.. 

Dyers 

Bleachers, men 

Bleachers, women 

Mechanics 13 13 

Firemen. 10 66 



*3 

© © 

GO S 

-oft 

© w 

si 

=■1 



7 96 

9 81 

11 81 

5 25 



$3 40 
2 55 



94 
52 
52 
80 
04 
32 
10 
43 

7 94 

5 



Differ- 
ence. 



$3 19 

3 14 

2 43 

1 11 

4 36 
4 45 

4 92 

3 52 
6 71 

2 82 

5 19 

4 83 



94 
123'- 
125- 

73 
124 
159 
162 

56 
132 
116 

65 



Mr. Coats adds : 

"Our manufacture is a specialty, requiring 
the employment of good, steady hands, it being 
impossible for us to maintain the quality of our 
goods with a floating class of help. The general 
average of female help in Scotland, you will ob- 
serve, is under $3 a week, whereas here it aver- 
ages $7.50 per week. (Remember the difference 
in the time run between the two countries is de- 
ducted from the rates paid here to make the 
comparison more correct.) The difference im 
male help is not so great, but the great bulk of 



THE TARIFF. 



201'. 



those we employ are females. We are obliged 
to pay higher wages, as we have to employ help 
corresponding to the best class engaged in 
weaving and other highly paid departments of 
labor. Unless we do so we find our help unwil- 
ling to remain with us steadily, subject to the 
strict discipline necessary to produce our quality 
of goods. These conditions apply to Scotland a-> 
well as here, where our experience proves the 
help to be quite as efficient and able to attend to 
a* many machines or spindles. 

I deduct from the wages paid here an amount 
corresponding to the difference of time run dur- 



ing the week in the two countries." 

These statements are from business men,, 
owners of mills here, and in Europe, who know 
where of they affirm. They are the indisputable 
practical facts of their business record They 
show conclusively that in Europe the working- 
men and workiugwomeu do not receive half as- 
much pay as do ours. 

The following statement, showing the weekly 
rates in the several countries, computed from 
the consular reports, and compared with rates; 
prevailing in the United States, show as great a 
difference in all other branches of industry : 



Occupations, 



Bricklayers 

Carpenters and joiners. 

Gas-fitters 

Masons 

Painters 

Plasterers 

Plumbers 

Slaters 

General Trades : 

Bakers 

Blacksmiths 

Book-binders 

Brass-founders 

Butchers 

Cabinet-makers 

Coopers 

Coppersmiths 

Cutlers 

Engravers 

Horseshoers 

Millwrights 



$4 00 

5 42 



500 
4 90 



550 



5 55 
5 45 

485 



5 42 
600 
700 



468 
*5 40 



Germany. 



$3 60 
400 
365 
4 30 
3 92 
3 80 
3 60 
400 

3 50 
3 55 
3 82 
3 20 
3 85 
3 97 
3 30 
3 30 
400 
400 
3 25 
3 30 



$3 45 
4 18 

3 95 

4 00 
4 60 

4 35 
3 90 
390 

390 

3 94 
390 

5 49 

4 20 
4 95 
4 35 

3 90 
390 

4 00 

3 50 

4 95 



England. 



$8 12 
8 25 

7 25 

8 16 

7 25 

8 10 

7 75 
790 

6 50 

8 12 
783 
740 

7 23 
7 70 
7 30 

7 40 

8 00 

9 72 
7 20 
7 50 



United States. 



$12 00 
00 
10 00 
12 00 
10 00 
10 00 
12 00 
10 00 

500 
10 00 
12 00 
10 00 
800 
900 
12 00 
12 00 
10 00 
15 00 
12 00 
10 00 



to $15 0O 

to 12 00 

to 14 00- 

to 18 00 

to 16 00 

to 15 00 

to 18 00 

to 15 00 

to 8 0O 

to 14 00 

to 18 00 

to 14 00 

to 12 09 

to 13 00 

to 16 00 

to 16 00 

to 13 00 

to 25 05' 

to 18 00 

to 15 00 



While the cost of the necessaries of life is, on 
the average, from twenty to forty per cent, 
higher in Europe than in America. 



And yet the Senator from Texas declares they 
are paid alike. 



Average Weekly Wage in Massachusetts— 1860, 1872, 1878, 1881. from the Report 
on the Statistics of Labor for Massachusetts for 1882. 



Occupations. 



Agriculture: 
Laborers, per month, with board. 

Blacksmiihing: 
Blacksmiths 

Boots and shoes: 
Cutters 



Bottomers 

Crimpers 

Finishers 

Shoemakers 

Machines and machinery: 

Pattern-makers 

Iron molders 

Brass-m older.- 

Blacksmiths 

Blacksmith's helpers 

Machinists 

Cleaners andchippers 

C i uckers 

Fitters 

Setters-up 

Rivet-heaters, boys 

Riveters 

Wood-workers , 

Painters 

Laborers 

Watchmen 

Teamsters 

Metals and Metalic goods: 

Hammersmen 

Heaters 

Rollers 

Puddlers 

Shinglers 

Finishers 



Average weekly wage: 
standard, grold. 



18C0. 



813 63 

9 30 

12 00 

10 50 
10 50 
14 50 

10 33 

11 50 
9 50 

10 00 
9 15 
6 50 
9 64 
6 00 
6 75 

8 83 
10 0) 

4 00 

9 .50 
9 16 
6 00 

6 0) 

7 do 

7 50 



1872. 



§23 09 
16 44 



14 81 
16 00 



16 00 
14 66 

17 60 
14 67 
14 67 
16 00 
30 20 
14 40 



14 40 

12 80 



14 6' 



1878. 



515 72 $18 00 



13 75 

11 05 
10 71 

10 00 

11 75 

8 00 

15 24 

12 30 

13 25 

12 15 
7 70 

13 05 

7 50 

9 75 
10 66 
12 00 

5 00 
12 00 
10 39 

8 



1881. 



21 33 

10 67 
24 00 
24 00 



*As compared with 1878. 



7 27 

9 00 

10 00 


12 00 


28 40 
13 SO 

18 00 

19 "0 
27 ro 



16- 38 

14 91 
11 71 

11 88 

12 18 
12 21 

18 10 

16 40 

15 75 

15 75 

10 29 

17 09 

8 64 

11 83 

12 82 

13 38 
5 64 

13 05 

14 60 
12 23 

9 15 
12 21 
11 80 

18 00 

27 77 

16 40 
20 91 
22 94 

28 87 



+$2 28 

+2 63 

+3 86 
+1 00 
+1 88 
+ 43 
+4 21 

+2 86 
+4 10 
+2 50 
+3 60 
+2 59 
+4 04 
+ 1 14 
+ 1 58 
+2 16 
+ 1 38 
+ 64 
+ 1 05- 
+4 21 
+4 23 
+ 1 88- 
+ 3 21 
+1 80 

+6 00 
+4 37 
+ 2 60 
■4-2 91 
-f 3 44 
+ 1 87 



202 



THE TARIFF. 



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204 



THE TARIFF. 



Testimony of English Free-Traders. 

The London Mining Journal of June 
26, 1880, contained a communication 
from one of its English readers, over 
the signature of " Free Trade," in which 
the writer showed why the United 
States could not become a serious com- 
petitor with England in supplying the 
world's markets with manufactures of 
iron and steel. He said : 

The reason of this is that it i« practically im- 
possible to regulate wages except upon the basis 
of the highest prices obtainable for the article 
manufactured, so that if the tariff permits the 
American ironmaster to sell to local consumer* 
at 810 per ton higher tban before, the full pro- 
portion of tluit $10 must be paid to the workmen. 
and the British ironmaster in all markets except 
the American is benefitted to the extent of the ex- 
tra wages paid in America. It is obviously ab- 
surd for the British producer to complain of a 
foreign producing country levying an import 
duty on the produce wkich he has to sell, because 
that duty extends his market eUewhere and trith- 
draics one competitor. Two countries equally 
well circumstanced for raw material and labor 
can onlv compete with each other when both 
have Protection or both Free Trade,, and when 
one only has Free Trade, that one invariably has 
the best of it, because the sale price at the works 
is of course cheaper. For this reason I think we 
should be well contented that the Americans re- 
tain their tariff, and be content to retain our 
confidence in Free Trade, 

It is an English Free Trader who 
pays this tribute to the effect of Pro- 
tection on wages in this country. 

Mr. Casson, the general manager of 
the Earl of Dudley's Staffordshire iron 
works, in his recent visit to Pitts- 
burgh, in answer to a question by a re- 
porter of the Pittsburgh Commei'ckil 
Gazette, said: 

I find that in many respects you have the ad- 
vantage of us as regards mechanical appliances, 
while in others we are greatly ahead of your 
manufacturers. We can manufacture iron at 
just one-half tJie cost as far as the price of labor 
is concerned. I find that your rate of wages is 
about ex<ictly double what we hate to pay. 

Now let us ask a question or two. 
"Who is the greedy and who is the libe- 
ral employer? Under which policy — 
Protection or Free Trade — does the 
workiugman fare the best ? 



PART XIX. 

Or and Results of Protect ion 
in Increased National 
Power and Wealth. 

Growth of the Nation Under Protec- 
tion Since 1860 in Population, Wealth.. 
Industries, and Commerce. 

In the following table from official 
sources we have an exhibit, during the 
period from 1860 to 1880, of the growth 
of the nation in population, wealth, in- 
dustries, and commerce : 



ttHXOOeoDwest-HeiHttHSooigtt 




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OPS 



NATIONAL TAXES. 

CHAPTER XIII. 



205 



Who Pays the National Taxes. 



PART I. 

Sources of Public Revenue — 
Customs. Internal Reve- 
nue, and Public Lauds — 
The Masses Pay Xo Taxes 
— Only Those who Indulge 
in Foreign Broadcloths, 
Brussels and Turkey Car- 
pets. Diamonds. <Ve. ? in 
Whiskey, Wines, and To- 
bacco — Real Estate and 
Necessaries of I<ife Un- 
taxed by National Laws. 

An examination will show that only 
those persons pay taxes to the national 
Government who indulge in luxuries, 
■&.C. The following table gives the ag- 
gregate reeeipts or the Government 
from all sources during the fiscal year 
•ending June 30, 1882 : 

Receipts, 

From customs 82*20,410,730 25 

" internal revenue.. 146,497,595 45 

" direct tax. 160,14169 

" Sales of public 

lands 4,753,140 37 

" miscellaneous 

sources 31,703,642 52 



403,525,250 28 | 

First. Customs. Those persons pay 
customs duties, and consequently con- 
tribute to this part of the income, who 
wear French broadcloth ; who use 
foreign-made cotton fabrics, hemp, jute, 
and flax goods ; who pass by the 
American manufacturer of earthenwares 
and buy foreign articles; who drink 
French brandy and imported liquors of 
all kinds; who go to the mines of Russia 
and England for iron, bar, pig, or rolled; 
who buy English jack-knives; who eat 
imported provisions and sugars; who 
dress theirwives and daughters in foreign 
and silken goods, using velvet vestings, 
shawls from the Orient, bonnets from 
Paris, watch-chains from Geneva, and 
laces made by the poorly-paid laborers 
of Europe ; who smoke Havana cigars, 
« cheroots from Spain, and cigarettes from 



Turkey ; who wear wool from the sheep 
of South America, and woolen goods 
from manufacturers without interest in 
this country except to crush its rising 
industries ; who walk on Brussels car- 
pets, and shade their eves with damask 
curtains ; and who trip lightly in French 
calf boots and gaiters. All of these peo- 
ple help pay this customs-tax. The 
articles on the free list, such as tea and 
coffee and many important medicines, 
all escape this tax. Those who rind it 
irksome to pay the tax on these luxuries 
may take consolation in the fact that 
they can dispense with the goods and 
thus avoid the burden. 

Second. Internal Revenue. Those 
persons pay internal revenue duties and 
thus contribute to the funds, who drink 
and use distilled spirits, beer, ale, and 
malt liquors, wines and champagne; who 
chew tobacco, smoke cigars and cigaret- 
tes; who draw bank checks and manage 
banks ; who become involved in legal 
difficulties with the officers of justice, 
and pay penalties for moon shining and 
other schemes for evading the tax ; who 
use patent medicines, pills, hair-dye, 
tooth wash, pomades, domestic perfum- 
eries, and the varied luxuries that enter 
so largely into the whims of society. All 
these people pay internal revenue tax. 

Tltird. Sales of Public Lands: This 
item of income is self-explanatory and 
means just what it says. When a settler 
buys land of the United States he pays 
for it, usually 81.25 per acre. The money 
from this source is part of the National 
income; so also are the fees of the 
officers in public land offices; but it is 
not tax. 

Fourth. Miscellaneous: This item 
includes many minor sources of income 
as the profits from the mints and assay 
offices, or the excess of the receipts over 
the expenditures of those establish- 
ments ; from the excess of receipts over 
expenses in the steamboat inspection 
service ; from the semi-annual tax on 
the circulation and deposits of National 
banks, less the expense of National cur- 
rency ; from fees on letters-patent over 
the expense of the Patent Office; from 
reimbursing the Treasury for expense 
in redeeming the National bank cur- 
rency ; from the sales of Indian lands 
over the cost of fulfilling treaties ; from 
premiums on the sale of coin and on 
funded loans of the United States ; from 
tax on seal-skins and rent of the Alaska 



206 



NATIONAL TAXES. 



Islands ; and from other like sources, 
not tax, and not oppressive to the peo- 
ple. 

Fifth. Direct Tax. During the last 
fiscal year the actual receipts from this 
source were $160,141.69. This was part of 
an old tax, levied dnring the war,by act of 
Congress approved August 5, 1861. The 
eighth section imposed a direct tax of 
twenty millions of dollars, which was 
apportioned among the States in pro- 
portion to their representation in Con- 
gress ; as for example, Indiana's share 
of that tax was $904,875.83£, which was 
paid. There has been no direct tax 
since ; and none before, except in times 
of war, and of the $20,000,000 the quota 
of the States in insurrection stands un- 
paid. 

It will thus be seen that the real- 
estate and general business of the coun- 
try are not assessed for the support of 
the Government of the United States ; 
that the tax bears lightly on all ; that 
the necessaries of life escape it alto- 
gether ; and that all can escape it by 
simply limiting their economies to the 



lines of articles produced at home, and 
to articles not considered luxuries. 

Free-traders Claim that the Tariff is a 
burden upon the People Not true- 
Revenue from Customs largely de- 
rived from articles of Luxury, Ac- 
Official Figures. 

The free-traders claim that th e tariflL 
is a burden, and that it bears more 
heavily upon those least able to bear it.. 
This is not true. With the exception of 
the duty on sugar, and some of the raw 
materials for manufacture, our revenue 
is largely derived from articles of 
luxury, and articles to meet the demands* 
of taste and fashion among the wealthy 
or " well-to-do" classes, which are not 
articles of necessity. Our own cotton 
and woolen manufacturers supply sub- 
stantially all the fabrics of these classes- 
consumed by the great mass of our peo- 
ple. We insert a table showing the 
value of and duties paid upon articles of 
luxury and fine dress goods imported 
last year : 



Article- 



Beer, ale and porter 

Diamond?, etc 

Fancy articles, (alabaster, etc.) 

Fancy feathers and artificial flowers 

Musical instruments 

Paintings and statuary 

Silks, piece goods and manufactured... 

Spirits and wine* 

Champagne and wines 

Other spirits, etc., and still wines 

Tobacco and cigars- 

Braids, lac* s, etc.. for ornamenting hats 

Laces, cords, braids, gimps 

Chinaware decorated... 

Cotton embroideries 

Meerschaum pipes 

Fire-crackers 

Fruits and nuts 

Fine cut glassware 

Fire-arms 

Cotton velvets and fine cotton goods. . . . 

Touil 



Value-. 



$818,958 80 
8,330,071 45 
1,526,734 38 
2,835,282 90 
1,385,892 02 
2 183,865 47 

32,377,226 48 
2,031,679 34 
2,883,668 08 
3,650,990 41 
6,474,938 67 
2,340,384 00 
5,124,102 76 
1,621,112 35 
8,133,5<>0 00 
64,354 00 
238,025 20 

12,511,806 39 

802,807 20 

1,137,514 35 

8,590,297 49 



100,093,211 74 



Duty. 



$341,185 62 

835,052 19* 

763,367 19» 

957,826 95 

415,767 60- 

218,386 55 

19,038,665 SI 

2,962,889 67 

1,369,763 60 

2,011,269 32 

4,655,591 6T 

702,115 20- 

1,793,435 96. 

810,556 1& 

1,096,756 50 

53,679 79 

227,800 05 

3,341,848 66- 

328,322 88 

398,130 01 

3,006,604 12 



45,330,015 52 



This sum is greater than the revenue year up to 1851, and nearly equal to that 
cf the Government from customs in any I received in 1858, 1859, or 1860. 



THE HOMESTEAD QUESTION. 

CHAPTER XIV. 



207 



The Homestead Question. 



PART I. 

Republican Attempts prior 
to I860 to Give Home- 
steads to Actual Settlers — 
Persistent Democratic 
Opposition — H omestead 
Bills Denounced as Per- 
nicious by the Slave Oli- 
garchy. 

Many and persistent were the attempts 
made by the Republican party, while the 
Democracy were yet in power, to reserve 
onr immense public domain to actual 
settlers at a nominal price, or without 
price. But until the scepter of power 
fell from the hands of the slave oligarchy 
in 1860, these attempts were invariably 
defeated by Democratic votes cast in 
the interest of those who sought to open 
the public domain to monopoly by spec- 
ulators — to use it to build up a landed 
aristocracy. 

Homestead bills were denounced by 
the Democracy as "unconstitutional," 
"pernicious," ""corrupting," "fraught 
with mischief, and mischief of the most 
demoralizing kind," and the solid South, 
aided by its faithful allies of the North, 
succeeded in preventing these beneficent 
measures from becoming laws until the 
Republican party wrested the reins of 
power from the grasp of the Democracy 
in 1860. 

Grows Bill to give Actual Settlers Ten 
Years Start of Monopolists Defeated 
by Democrats. 

At the first session of the Thirty-fifth 
Congress Mr. Grow, of Pennsylvania, 
introduced a bill providing that after 
the 1st of September, 1858, "no public 
lands shall be exposed to sale by procla- 
mation of the President until the same 
shall have been surveyed, and the return 
thereof in the land office for at least ten 
years." 

This would give to the actual settler 
ten years' precedence over the specula- 
tor, but it was defeated by the slave- 
holding Democracy by a vote of 73 to 78. 

The same measure was offered as an 
amendment to a bill relating to pre- 
emptions the following year. It was 



opposed by the Southern landed Democ- 
racy solidly, but finally carried by a vote 
of 97 to 81. The bill as amended, how- 
ever, was defeated, the Republicans vot- 
ing solidly lor it, and every Southern 
Democrat but two voting against it- 
Only eight Northern Democrats voted 
for it. 

Democratic Filibustering to Prevent 
Discussion of Homestead Bill— It 
Passes the House. 

On the 1st of February, 1859, H. R. 72 r 
"to secure homesteads to actual set- 
tlers," came up for action. The Democ- 
racy attempted by parliamentary strat- 
egy to defeat it, and even to prohibit 
discussion on its merits, but it passed, 
the House — 120 to 76 — the Republicans* 
with one exception, voting for the bill, 
and 60 out of 98 of the Democracy vot- 
ing against it. The South was solid, as- 
usual, against donating "land to the- 
landless." 

Defeated in the Senate. 

The Senate defeated the bill, after an 
attempt to postpone it, by taking up the 
bill for the purchase of Cuba. The vote 
was 28 to 28, and the casting vote of Vice 
President Breckinridge secured its de- 
feat. 

The Bill to give Slaves to Slaveholders- 
takes precedence of the Bill to give 
Lands to the Landless. 

Two days later Senator Wade at- 
tempted to have the homestead bill con- 
sidered, but liis motion was defeated — 
yeas (fill Republicans but seven) 24, nays 
(all Democrats) 31. On the 2oth of Feb- 
ruary another attempt was made, but 
it was again antagonized by the Cuba 
bill. Of course a bill to give slaves to 
slaveholders would take precedence in 
a Democratic body of a bill to give homes 
to the landless. The yeas were 35, all 
Democrats; nays 24. After a lengthy 
debate on the Cuba bill a motion to take 
up the homestead bill was again de- 
feated. Yeas, all Republicans but two - r 
nays, all Democrats. 

Homestead Bill Passes Both Houses; 
but is Vetoed by a Democratic Pres- 
ident. 

At the next session, on the 6th of March, 
1860, the Grow bill, "to secure home- 
steads to actual settlers on the publie 
domain," was taken up and passed by 



208 



THE HOMESTEAD QUESTION. 



the House, the Republicans voting for 
it unanimously, and all voting against 
it being Democrats. • ' ** 

The Senate passed a substitute for the 
Grow bill, which, with some modifica- 
tions, was accepted by the House on the 
principle that ''half a loaf is better than 
no bread." The substitute gave to ac- 
tual settlers homesteads at twenty-five 
•cents per acre, but did not include pre- 
«emptors then occupying public lands. 

This bill was vetoed by President 
Buchanan June 22, 1860, and the Senate, 
in which the bill originated, voted to 
sustain the veto. 

PART II. 
The Republicans Succeed— 
And the Slave Oligarchy 
Secede— Industrious Free- 
men Triumph in Republi- 
can Success— Land tor the 
Landless and Homes for 

All. 

On the 4th of March, 1861, President Lin- 
coln was inau gurated. The Democratic 
slave-holding landed aristocracy seceded, 
and theRepublicaus,'now in possession ot 
both Houses of Congress and the execu- 
tive, hastened to redeem its pledges; 
and early in 1862 it passed the homestead 
act, granting 160 acres to every actual 
settler 21 years or more of age, or to 
everv head of a family who is or has de- 
clared his intention to become a citizen 
of the United States. This is its mam 
feature, independent of the grant of 160 
acres to every person, whether ot age or 
not, and whether naturalized or not, who 
enlisted in the army to put down the 
rebellion. . . . TT 

The vote by which it passed the House, 
February 28, 1862, was 114 yeas to 18 nays, 
all but three voting against the bill be- 
ing Democrats, and all but 22 voting for 
it being Republicans. 

The Senate vote on the bill was— ayes, 
33 ; nays, 7. Of the yeas, 30 were Repub- 
licans; of the nays, 1 was a Republican. 
Extending tne Homestead Act— Rebel 
Opposition. 

In the House, February 8, 1866, a bill 
was passed extending the provisions of 
the homestead act to the States of Ala- 
bama Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, 
and Florida. The vote by which it 
passed was 112 yeas to 29 nays; 
nays being Democrats but two. 
The Homestead Law a Purely Repub- 
lican Measure. 

Thus it is demonstrated that the home- 
stead principle is a distinguishing Re- 
publican measure, and no fraudulent 
attempt to claim the credit of it by the 



Democracy can rob the Republicans of 
its authorship or the credit of the 
beneticent results which have accrued 
through it to the nation and the people. 

Democracy Still Hostile to the Home- 
stead Law. 

On the other hand, the Democracy 
have not only opposed the principle from 
the first, but still labor to rob the people 
of its benefits by persistent attempts to 
destroy the efficiency of the Land Office, ■ 
by refusing appropriations to secure an 
increase in the clerical force of that bu- 
reau, an increase absolutely demanded 
for the prompt and efficient execution of 
its increasing business. 

The Beneticent Efforts of the Homestead 
Law Demonstrated by Facts and Fig- 
ures—Immense Increase in Wealtb, 
Power and Population. 

The beneficent results of the home- 
stead acts to the nation and the people 
may be seen by the following tables: 
Number of homestead entries 
made under the act up to 

date 547,447 

Number living upon such home- 
steads (at the low average of 

4.35 per family) 2,381,394 

Number of acres entered under 
the act up to date 65,808,987 

This increase of 2,381,394 thus added to 
the population of the Union equals the 
population of the following six States, 
viz: Population. 

California 864,694 

Minnesota 780,773 

Oregon 174,768 

Nevada . 62,266 

Colorado 194,327 

Florida 269,493 



all the 



2,346,321 
Plus 35,073 



2,381,394 

The area added to the Union through 
the homestead locations made up to 
June 30, 1882, equals the areas of the 
following great States, viz: Acres. 

New Hampshire 5,939,200 

Massachusetts 4,992,000 

Ehode Island 835,840 

Connecticut 3,040,000 

New York 30,080,000 

New Jersey 5,324,800 

Delaware 1,356,800 

Maryland 7,814,400 

Vermont 6,121,600 



Plus nearly half the area of 
the State of Rhode Island.. 



65,504,640 



304,347 



65, 



,987 



NATIONAL BANKS. 



Thus it is demonstrated that this mea- 
sure, instead of being, as the Democracy 
claimed, "fraught with mischief of the 
most demoralizing kind," has added a 
hardy, intelligent, industrious, and pa- 
triotic population to the States in which 
these homesteads are located, greatly 



enhancing the value of their lands, en- 
larging their productive industries, and 
thus increasing the wealth and power 
of the nation to a degree immeasurably 
greater than the value of the lands to 
the government when thus donated. 



CHAPTER XY. 



The National Banks. 



PART I. 

Bill to extend tlieir Chart- 
ers twenty years. 

Be it enacted, etc., That any national banking 
association organized under the acts of February 
25 1863, June 3, 1864, and February 14, 1880, or 
under sections 5133, 5134, 5135, 5136, and 5154 of the 
Revised Statutes of the United States, may, at any 
time within the two years next previous to the 
date of the expiration of its corporate existence 
under the present law, and with the approval of 
the Comptroller of the Currency, to be granted as 
hereiuafter provided, extend its period of succes- 
sion by amending its articles of association for a 
term of not more than twenty years from the ex- 
piration of the period of succession named in said 
articles of association, and shall have succession 
for such extended period, unless sooner dissolved 
by the act of shareholders owning two-thirds of 
its stock, or unless its franchise becomes forfeited 
by some violation of law, or unless hereafter mod- 
ified or repealed . ■ . 

Sec 2. That such amendment of said articles of 
association shall be authorized by the consent in 
writing of shareholders owning not less than two- 
thirds of the capital stock of the association ; and 
the board of directors shall cause such consent to 
be certified under the seal of the association, by 
its president or cashier, to the Comptroller of the 
Currency, accompanied by an application made 
by the president or cashier for the approval of the 
amended articles of association by the Comptrol- 
ler- and snch amended articles of association 
shall not be valid until the Comptroller shall give 
to such association a certificate under his hand 
and seal that the association has complied with 
all the provisions required to be complied with, 
and is authorized to have succession for the ex- 
tended period named in the amended articles of 
association. 

Sec. 3. That upon the receipt of the application 
and certificate of the association provided for in 
the preceding section, the Comptroller of the 
Currency shall cause a special examination to be 
made at the expense of the association, to de- 
termine its condition ; and if after such examina- 
tion or otherwise, it appears to him that said asso- 
ciation is in a satisfactory condition, he shall 
erant his certificate of approval provided for in 
the preceding section, or if it appears that the con- 
dition of said association is not satisfactory he 
shall withhold such certificate of approval. 
• Sec 4 That any association so extending the 
period of its succession shall continue to enjoy all 
the rh-hts and privileges and immunities granted, 
and shall continue to be subject to all the duties, 
liabilities and restrictions imposed by the Re- 
vised Statutes of the United States and other acts 
ha\in°- reference to national banking associations, 
and itshall continue to be in all respects the iden- 



tical association it was before the extension of its 
period of succession: Provided, however, That the 
jurisdiction for suits hereafter brought by or 
against any association established under any law 
providing for national banking associations, ex- 
cept suits between them and the United States, or 
its officers and agents, shall be the same as, and 
not other than, the jurisdiction for suits by or 
against banks not organized uuder any law of the 
United States which do or might do banking busi- 
ness where such national banking associations 
may be doing business when such suits may be 
begun. And all laws and parts of laws of the 
United States inconsistent with this proviso be, and 
the same are hereby, repealed. 

Sec. 5. That when any national banking asso- 
ciation has amended its articles of association as 
provided in this act, and the Comptroller has 
granted his certificate of approval, any share- 
holder not assenting to such amendment may 
give notice in writing to the directors, within 
thirty days from the date of the certificate of ap- 
proval, of his desire to withdraw from said asso- 
ciation, in which case he shall be entitled to 
receive from said banking association the value 
of the shares so held by him, to be ascertained 
by an appraisal made by a committee of three 
persons, one to be selected by such shareholder, 
one by the directors, and the third by the first 
two; and in case the value so fixed shall not be 
satisfactory to any such shareholder he may appeal 
to the Comptroller of the Currency, who shall 
cause a reappraisal to be made, wnich shall be 
final and binding; and if said reappraisal shall 
exceed the value fixed by said committee the 
bank shall pay the expenses of said reappraisal, 
and otherwise the appellant shall pay said ex- 
penses; and the value so ascertained and deter- 
mined shall be deemed to be a debt due, and be 
forthwith paid to said shareholder from said 
bank, and the shares so surrendered and appraised 
shall, after due notice, be sold at pubh'c sale 
within thirty days alter the final appraisal pro- 
vided in this section: Provided, That in the 
organization of any banking association intended 
to replace any existing banking association, and 
retaining the name thereof, the holders of stock 
in the expiring association shall be entitled to 
preference in the allotment of the shares of the 
new association in proportion to the number of 
shares held by them respectively in the expiring 
associations. * 

Sec. 6. That the circulating notes of any associa- 
tion so extending the period of its succession, 
which shall have been issued to it prior to such 
extension shall be redeemed at the Treasury of 
the United States, as provided in section 3 of the 
act of June 20, 1874, entitled "An act fixing the 
amount of United States notes, providing for a re- 
distribution of national bank currency, and for 
other purposes," and such notes when redeemed 
shall be forwarded to the Comptroller of the Cur- 
rency, and destroyed, as now provided by law, 
and at the end of three years from the date of the 



210 



NATIONAL BANKS. 



extension of the corporate existence of each bank 
the association so extended shall deposit lawful 
money with the Treasurer of the United States 
sufficient to redeem the remainder of the circula- 
tion which was outstanding at the date of its ex- 
tension, as provided in sections 5222, 5224, and 5225 
of the .Revised Statutes, and any gain that may 
arise from the failure to present such circulating 
notes for redemption shall inure to the benefit 
of the United States, and from time to time 
as such notes are redeemed or lawful money de- 
posited therefore, as provided herein, new circu- 
lating notes shall be issued as provided by this 
act, bearing such devices, to be approved by the 
Secretary of the Treasury, as shall make them 
readily distinguishable from the circulating notes 
heretofore issued : Provided, however, That each 
banking association which shall obtain the bene- 
fit of this act snail reimburse to the Treasury the 
cost of preparing the plate or plates for such new 
circulating notes as shall be issued to it. 

Sec. 7. That national banking associations 
whose corporate existence has expired or shall 
hereafter expire, and which do not avail them- 
selves of the provisions of this act, shall be re- 
quired to comply with the provisions of sections 
5221 and 5222 of the Revised Statutes in the same 
manner as if the shareholders had voted to go into 
liquidation, as provided in section 5220 of the Re- 
vised Statutes; and the provisions of sections 5224 
and 5225 of the Revised Statutes shall also be appli- 
cable to such associations, except as modified by 
this act; and the franchise of such lassociation is 
hereby extended for the sole purpose of liquidat- 
ing their affairs until such affairs are finally 
closed 

Sec. 8. That national banks now organized or 
hereafter organized, having a capital of $150,000 or 
less, shall be required to keep on deposit or deposit 
with the Treasurer of the United States, United 
States bonds in excess of one-fourth of their cap- 
ital stock as security for their circulating notes; 
but such banks shall keep on deposit or deposit 
with the Treasurer of the United States the amount 
of bonds as herein required ; and such of those 
banks having on deposit bonds in excess of that 
amount are authorized to reduce their circulation 
by the deposit of lawful money as provided by law: 
]'iovided, That the amount of such circulating 
noas shall not in any case exceed 90 per cent, of 
the par value of the bonds deposited as herein pro- 
vided : Provided further, That all national banks 
which shall hereafter make deposits of lawful 
money for the retirement in full of their circula- 
tion shall, at the time of their deposit, be assessed, 
for the cost of transporting and redeeming their 
notes then outstanding, a sum equal to the average 
cost of the redemption of national bank notes dur- 
ing the preceding year, and shall thereupon pay 
such assessment; and all national banks which 
have heretofore made or shall hereafter make de- 
posits of lawful money for the reduction of their 
circulation shall be assessed and shall pay an as- 
sessment in the manner specified in section 3 of 
the act approved June 20, 1874, for the cost of trans- 
porting and redeeming their notes redeemed from 
such deposits subsequently to June 30, 1881. 

Sec. 9. That any national banking association 
now organized, or hereafter organized, desiring to 
withdraw it w circulating notes, upon a deposit of 
lawful money with the Treasurer of the United 
States, as provide. 1 in section 4 of the act of June 
20, 1874, entitled " An act fixing the amount of 
United States notes, providing for a redistribution 
of national bank currency, and for other pur- 
poses," or as provided in this act, is authorized to 
deposit lawful money and withdraw a propor- 
tionate amount of the bonds held as security for 
its circulating notes in the order of such deposits ; 
and no national bank which makes any deposit of 
lawful money in order to withdraw its circulating 
notes shall be entitled to receive any increase of 
its circulation for the period of six months from 
the time it made such deposit of lawful money for 
the purpose aforesaid: Provided, That not more 
than three millions of dollars of lawful money 
shall be deposited during any calendar month tor 
this purpose : And provided, further, That the provis- 
ions of this section shall not apply to bond-, called 
for redemption by the Secretary of the Treasury, 



nor to the withdrawal of circulating notei in cm- 
sequence thereof. 

Sec 10. That upon a deposit of bonds as de- 
scribed by sections 5159 and 5160, except as modi- 
fied by section 4 of an act entitled " An act fixing 
the amount of United States notes, providing for a 
redistribution of the national bank currency, and 
for other purposes," approved June 20, 1874, and as 
modified by section 8 of this act, the association 
making the same shall be entitled to receive from 
the Comptroller of the Currency circulating notes 
of different denominations, in blank, registered 
and countersigned as provided by law, equal in 
amount to 90 per cent, of the current market value, 
not exceeding part of the United States bonds so 
transferred and delivered, and at no time shall 
the total amount of such notes issued to any such 
association exceed 90 per cent, of the amount at 
such time actually paid in of its capital stock ; and 
the provisions of sections 5171 and 5176 of the Re- 
vised Statutes are hereby repealed. 

Sec 11. That the Secretary of the Treasury is 
hereby authorized to receive at the Treasury any 
bonds of the United States bearing 3^ per cent, 
interest, and to issue in exchange therefor an 
equal amount of registered bonds of the United 
States of the denominations of fifty, one hundred, 
five hundred, one thousand, and ten thousand 
dollars, of such form as he may prescribe, bearing 
interest at the rate of 3 per cent, per annum, paya- 
ble quarterly at the Treasury of the United States. 
Such bonds shall be exempt from a'll taxation by 
or under State authority, and be payable at the 
pleasure of the United States : Provided, That the 
bonds herein authorized shall not be called in 
and paid so long as any bonds of the United States 
heretofore issued, bearing a higher rate of in- 
terest than 3 per cent., and which shall be redeem- 
able at the pleasure of the United States, shall be 
outstanding and uncalled. The last of the said 
bonds originally issued under this act, and their 
substitutes, shall be first called in, and this order 
of payment shall be followed until all shall have 
been paid. 

Sec 12. That the Secretary of the Treasury is 
authorized and directed to receive deposits of gold 
coin with the Treasurer or assistant treasurers of 
the United States, in sums not less than §20, and 
to issue certificates therefor in denominations of 
not less than $20 each, corresponding with the de- 
nominations of United States notes. The coin de- 
posited for or representing the certificates of de- 
posit shall be retained in the Treasury for the pay- 
ment of the same on demand. Said certificates 
shall be receivable for customs, taxes, and all pub- 
lic dues, and when so received may be reissued; 
and such certificates, as also silver certificates, 
when held by any national banking association, 
shall be counted as part of its lawful reserve; and 
no national banking association shall be a mem- 
ber of any clearing-house in which such certifi- 
cates shall not be receivable in the settlement of 
clearing-house balances: Provided, That the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury shall suspend the issue of 
such gold certificates whenever the amount of 
gold coin and gold bullion in the Treasury re- 
served for the redemption of United States notes 
falls below $100,000,000 ; and the provisions of sec- 
tiou 5207 of the Revised Statutes shall be applica- 
ble to the certificates herein authorized and di- 
rected to be issued. 

Sec 13. That any officer, clerk, or agent of any 
national banking association who shall willfully 
violate the provisions of an act entitled, "An act 
in reference to certifying checks by national 
banks," approved March 3, 1869, being section 
5208 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, 
or who shall resort to any device, or receive any 
fictitious obligation, direct or collateral, in order 
to evade the provisions thereof, or who shall cer- 
tify checks before the amount thereof shall have 
been regularly entered to the credit of the dea er 
upon the books of the banking association, shall 
he deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, on 
conviction thereof in any circuit or district court 
of the United States, be fined u t m re than $5,000, 
or shall be imprisoned not more than five years, or 
both, in the discretion of the court. 

Sec 14. That Congress may at any time amend, 
alter, or repeal this act and the acts of which this 
is amendatory. 



NATIONAL BANKS. 



211 



The act was approved July 12, 1882. 

The act was passed by the following 
vote— Senate : 

Yeas— Messrs. Aldrich, Allison, Blair, Call, Chil- 
cot, Conger, Davis of West Virginia, Dawes, Ferry, 
Frye Gorman, Groome, Hampton, Harrison, Haw- 
lev Hill of Colorado, Hoar, Jonas, Laphara, Logan, 
McMillan, Mahone, Miller of California, Miller 
New York, Morgan, Morrill, Ransom, Rollins, 
Saunders, Sawyer, Sewell, Sherman, Van Wyck, 
Windom— 34. 

Nays— Messrs. Brown, Cockrell, Cooke, Farley, 
George, Grover, Jones of Nevada, Maxey, Pugh, 
Vance, Voorliees, Walker, Williams— -13. 

House : 

YEAS-Messrs. Aiken, W. Aldrich, Barr, Bayne, 
Bisbee, J. H. Brewer, Briggs, Browne, Buck, Buck- 
ner, J. C. Burrows, Butterworth. Campbell, Cand- 
ler, Caunon, Carpenter, Caswell, Chace, Crapo, 
Cutis, Darrall, Dawes, Deering, De Motte, Diug- 
ley, Dunnell, Dwight, Ermentrout, Errett, S. S. 
Farwell, George, Gibson, Godshalk, J. Hammond, 
Hardenburgh, B. W. Harris, Haskell, G. C. Haz- 
elton, Hepburn, Hiscock, Hoblitzell, Horr, Houck, 
Hubbell, Jadwin, Kasson, Kelley, Ketcham, La- 



cey. Lord, Lynch, Mackey, McCook, McKinley, 
MoLane, Miles, Moore, Morey, Morse, Mutchler, 
Neale, Norcross, Oates, O'Neill, Orth, Pacheco, 
Parker.Pavson, Peele, Pierce, Pound, Prescott.Ran- 
ney, Ray, Reed, J. B. Rice.W. W. Rice, Rich, Ritchie, 
G. D. Robinson, J. S. Robinson, Scranton, Shallen- 
berger, Shelley, Shultz, A. H. Smith, D. C. Smith, 
Spaulding, Spooner, E. F. Stone, Strait, Talhott, E. 
B. Taylor, W. G. Thompson, A. Townsend, Tyler, 
J. T. Updegraff, T. Updegraff, Urner, Valentine, 
Van Aernam, Wadsworth, Wait, Walker. Ward, 
Washburn, Webber, J. D. White, C. G. Williams, 
Willits— 110. 

Nays— Messrs. Anderson, Armfield, Atkins, Bel- 
ford, Beltzhoover, Berry, Blount, Brumm, Buchanan, 
J. W. Caldwell, Cassidy, Chapman, Clardy, Cobb, 
Converse, Cook, S. S. Cox, W. R. Cox, Coving- 
ton, Cravens, Culberson, Davidson, Dibrell, Dowd, 
Dugro, Durm, Evans, Ford, Frost, Fulkerson, Ged- 
des, N. J. Hammond, Hardv, I. S. Hazeltine, Hatch, 
O. W. Hewitt, Hoge, Holman, Hooker, House, 
G. W. Jones, Kenny, Klotz, Knott, Ladd, Latham, 
Lowe, Matson, McKenzie, McMillin, Mills, Morrison, 
Moulton, Page, Paul, Phelps, Phister, Randall, Rea- 
gan, Rosecrans, Scales, Simonton, 0. R. Singleton, 
Speer, Springer. P. B. Thompson, jr., Tillman, R. 
W. Towshend, Tucker, H. G. Turner, 0. Turner, 
Upson, Vance, R. Warner, Welborn, T. Williams, 
Wilson, G. D. Wise, M. R. Wise-79. 



Statement of the Comptroller of the Curren- 
cy on September 1, 1882, showing the amounts 
of National Bank Notes and ot Legal Tender 
Notes outstanding at the dates of the passage 
of the Acts of June 20, 1874, January 14, 1875, 
and Mav 31, 1878, together with the amounts 
outstanding at date, and the increase or de- 



NATIONAL BANK NOTES. 

Amount outstanding June 20, 1874... $349,894,182 
Amount outstanding January 14, 1875, 351,861,450 
Amount outstanding May 31, 1878.... 322,555,965 

Amount outstanding at date* 359,691,573 

Increase during the last month 1,715,490 

Increase since September 1, 1881 2,778,562 



LEGAL TENDER NOTES. 

Amount outstanding June 20, 1874. ...$382,000,000 

Amount outstanding January 14, 1875, 382,000,000 

Amount retired under Act of Janua- 
ry 14, 1875. to May 31, 1878 35,318,984 

Amount outstanding on and since 
May 31, 1878 346,681,016 

Amount on deposit with the Treasur- 
er U. S. to redeem notes of insol- 
vent and liquidated banks, and 
banks retiring circulation under 
Act Of June 20, 1874 39,387,790 

Increase in deposit during the last 
month 737,313 

Increase in deposit since September 
1, 1881 7,119,545 

^Circulation of National Gold Banks not in- 
cluded in the above, $823,329. 



212 



NATIONAL BANKS. 



PART II. 
Statistics Relating to the Banks. 

Dividends and Earnings of the National Banks— Taxes Paid by the National Banks 
and by other Banks— Ratio of Tax to Capital— Banks as Holders of Govern- 
ment Bonds— Aggregate Capital and Deposits of National and OtherBanks, 
Ac— Amounts of National Bank Notes and Legal Tender Notes Outstand- 
ing at Certain dates up to Sept. 1, 1882. 

[From the Report of the Comptroller of the Currency, 1881.] 
Dividends and Earnings of National Banks. 

The following table shows the capital, surplus, dividends, and total earnings of 
all the national banks, for each half year, from March 1, 1869, to September 1 1881 
with the ratios, as before specified : ' ' 





3 
© 

o 
p 


Capital. 


Surplus. 


Total divi- 
dends. 


Total net 
earnings. 


RATIOS. 


Period of 

Bix months, 

ending- 


Divi- 
dends 
to cap- 


Divi- 
dends to 
capital 


Earnings 
to capital 














and sur 


and sur- 




50. 










ital. 


plus. 


plus. 














Per ct. 


Per cent. 




Sept. 1, 1869 


1,481 


$401,650,802 


$ 82.105,848 


$21,767,831 


$29,221,184 


5.42 


4.50 


6.04 


Mar. 1, 1870 


1,571 


416,366.991 


86,118,210 


21,479,095 


28,996,934 


5.16 


4.27 


5.77 


Sept. 1, 1870 


1,601 


425,317.104 


91,630,620 


21,080,343 


26,813,885 


4.96 


4.08 


5.19 


Mar. 1, 1871 


1,605 


428,699,165 


94,672,401 


22,205,150 


27,243,162 


5.18 


4.24 


4.21 


Sept. 1, 1871 


1,693 


445,999,264 


98,286,591 


22,125,279 


27,315,311 


4.96 


4.07 


5.02 


Mar. 1, 1872 


1,750 


450,693,706 


99,431,243 


22,859,826 


27,502,539 


5.07 


4.16 


5.00 


Sept. 1, 1872 


1,852 


465,676,023 


105,181,942 


23,827,289 


30,572,891 


5.12 


4.17 


5.36 


Mar. 1, 1873 


1.912 


475,918,683 


114,257,288 


24,826,061 


31,926,478 


5.22 


4.21 


5.41 


Sept. 1, 1873 


1,955 


488,100,951 


118,113,848 


24,823,029 


33,122,000 


5.09 


4.09 


5.46 


Mar. l, 1874 


1,967 


489,510,323 


123,469,859 


23,529,998 


29,544,120 


4.81 


3.84 


4.82 


Sept. 1, 1874 


1,971 


489,938,284 


128,364,039 


24,929,307 


30,036,811 


5.09 


4.03 


4.86 


Mar. 1, 1875! 2,007 


493,568,831 


131,560,637 


24,750,816 


29,136,007 


5.01 


3.96 


4.66 


Sept. 1, 1875 2,047 


497,864,833 


134,123,649 


24,317,785 


28,800,217 


4.88 


3.85 


4.56 


Mar. 1, 1876 


2,076 


504,209,491 


134,467,595 


24,811,581 


23,097,921 


4.92 


3.88 


3.62 


Sept. 1, 1876 


2,081 


500.482,271 


132,251,078 


22,563,829 


20,540,231 


4.50 


3.57 


3.25 


Mar. l, 1877 


2,080 


496,651,580 


130,872,165 


31,803,969 


19,592,962 


4.39 


3.47 


3.12 


Sept. 1, 1877 


2,072 


486,324,860 


124,349,254 


22,117,116 


15,274,028 


4.54 


3.62 


2.50 


Mar. l, 1878 


2,074 


475,609,751 


122.373,561 


18,982.390 


16,946,696 


3.99 


3.17 


2.83 


Sept. 1, 1878 


2,047 


470,231,896 


118,687,134 


17,959.223 


13,658,893 


3.81 


3.04 


2.31 


Mar. l, 1879 


2,043 


464,413,99(3 


116,744,135 


17,541,054 


14,678,660 


3.78 


3.02 


2.53 


Sept. 1, 1879| 2,045 


455,132,056 


115,149,351 


17,401,867 


16,873,200 


3.82 


3.05 


2.96 


Mar. l, 1880J 2,046 


454,080,090 


117,226,501 


18,121,273 


21,152,784 


3.S9 


3.17 


3.70 


Sept. 1, 1880 2,072 


454,215,062 


120,145,649 


18,290,200 


24,033,250 


4.03 


3.18 


4.18 


*Mar. 1, 1881 1 2.087 


456,844,865 


122,481,788 


18,877,517 


24,452,021 


4.13 


3.26 


4.22 


*Sept. 1, I88l| 2,100 


1 458,934.485 


127,238,394 


19,499,694 


29,170,816 


4.25 


3.33 


4.93 


Mar. l, 1882 


1 2,136 


1 460,254,485 


{ 131,241,585 


[ 19,910,875 


27,038,808 


( 4.33 


3.37 


4.57 



*1 75 banks failed to make dividends in 1881; and an average of 257 failed to make dividends 
during 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, and 1881. 

The nercentage to capital of dividends paid, and of dividends and earnings to combined capital 
and surplus, is given by similar divisions for the years 1879, 1880, and 1881, in the following table : 





1879. 


1880. 


1881. 


Geographical 
divisions. 


Divi- 
dends to 
capital. 


Divi- 
dends to 
capital 
and sur- 
plus. 


Earnings 
to capital 
and sur- 
plus. 


Divi- 
dends to 
capital. 


Divi- 
dends to 
capital 
and sur- 
plus. 


Earnings 
to capital 
and sur- 
plus. 


Divi- 
dends to 
capital. 


Divi- 
dends to 
capital 
and sur- 
plus. 


Earnings 
to capital 
and sur- 
plus. 


Uew England 
States 

Middle States.. 

SouthernStates 

Western States 
and Territo- 
ries 


Per cent. 

6.4 
7.9 
7.0 

9.4 


Per cent. 

5.2 
6.1 
6.0 

7.5 


Per cent. 

4.2 

5.8 
5.4 

7.1 


Per cent. 

6.8 
8.4 

7.8 

9.5 


Per cent. 

5.5 
6.5 
6.7 

•7.6 


Per cent. 

6.4 
8.6 
7.6 

9.3 


Percent. 

7.2 
8.5 
8.3 

10.4 


Pe rcent. 

5.8 
6.4 
6.9 

8.1 


Per cent. 

7.3 

9.4 

11.3 

11.6 


United States.. 


7.6 


6.1 


5.5 


8.0 


6.4 


7.9 


8.4 


6.6 


9.2 



NATIONAL BANKS 
Taxes paid by the National Banks. 



213 



The national banks, under present law, pay to the United States a tax of one 
per cent, upon the amount of their notes in circulation, one-half of one per cent, 
upon the amount of their deposits, and the same rate upon the average amount 
of capital invested in United States bonds. 

The following table shows the amount annually paid under this law, from the 
commencement of the national banking system to July 1, 1881, , showing an aggre- 
gate of taxes paid to the United States, by national banks, $108,855,021.90: 



Year. 



1864 

1865 

1866 

1867 

1868 

1869 

1870 

1871 

1872 

1873 

1874 

1875 

1876 

1877 

1878 

1879 

1880 

1881 

Aggregates ', 849,062,536 26 



On circulalion.; 


On deposits. 


On capital. 


$53,193 32 


$95,911 87 
1,087,530 86l 


$18,432 07 


733,247 59 


133,251 15 


2,106,785 30, 


2,633,102 77^ 


406,947 74 


2,868,636 78 


2,650,180 09; 


321,881 36 


2,946,343 07 


2,564,143 44! 


306,781 67 


2,957,416 73 


2,614,553 581 


312,918 68 


2,949,744 13 


2,614,767 611 


375,962 26 


2.987,021 69- 


2,802,840 851 


385 292 13 


3,193,570 03 


3,120,984 37 


389,356 27 


3,353,186 13 


3,196,569 29: 


454; 891 51 


3,404,483 11 


3,209,967 72| 


469,048 02 


3,283,450 89' 


3,514,265 39 


507,417 76 


3,091,795 76 


3,505,129 64 


632,296 16 


2,900.957 53 


3,451,965 38j 


660.784 90 


2,948,047 OS 


3,273,111 74; 


560,296 83 


3,009,647 16 


3,309,668 90 1 


401,920 61 


3,153,635 63 


4,058,710 61 


379,424 19 


3,121,374 33; 


4,940,945 12 


431,233 10 



Total. 



$52,644,345 23! $7,148,136 41 $108,855,021 90 



$167,537 26 
1,954,029 60 
5,846,835 81 
5,340.698 23 
5,817,268 18 
5,884.888 90 
5,940;474 00 
6,175,154 67 
6,703,910 67 
7,004,646 93 
7,083,498 85 
7,305,134 04 
7,229,221 56 
7,013,707 81 
6,781,455 65 
6,721,236 67 
7,591,770 43 
8,493,552 55 



The amount of tax paid upon circulation alonne is §49,062,436. The whole cost to the 
ment of the national system, since its establisment in l«63, has been §5,148,649.01- 



Taxes Paid by other than National Banks. 

The banks, other than national, pay taxes to the United States on account of 
their circulation, deposits, and capital, at the same rates as are paid by the na- 
tional banks. 

The table below exhibits the taxes which have been paid by these banks for 
the years from 1864 to 1881, inclusive. The amounts given under the head of tax 
on circulation have, for a number of years, been principally derived from the tax 
of ten per cent, upon State bank circulation paid out. The whole amount of tax 
paid by these banks is $61,540,474.63 : 



Year. 



On circulation. On deposits. On capita 



Total. 



1864. 
1865. 



1867. 



1870. 
1871. 
1872. 
1873. 
1874. 
1875- 
1876. 
1877. 
1878. 
1879. 



$2,056,996 30 

1,993,661 84 

990,278 11 

214,296 75 

28,669 88 

16,565 05 

15,419 941 

22,781 92l 

8,919 82! 

24,778 62! 

16.738 26 

22,746 27 1 

17,947 67! 

5,430 16! 

1,118 72! 

13,903 29; 

28,773 37! 

4,295 08; 



$780,723 
2,043,841 
2,099,635 
l,355,f>95 
1,438,512 
1,734,417 
2,177,576 
2,902,196 
3,953,251 
3,009,302 
2, 433,. 544 
2,772,260 
2,999,530 
2,896,637 
2,593.687 
2.354,911 
2,510,775 
2.946,906 



$903,367 98 
374,074 11 
476,867 73 
399,562 90 
445,071 49 
827,887 21 
919,262 77 
976,057 61 
736,950 05 
916,878 17 

1,102,241 58 
989.219 61 
927,661 24 
897,225 84 
830,068 56| 
811,436 48! 
811,006 35! 



$2,837,719 82 
4,940,870 90 
3,463,988 05 
2,046,562 46 
1,866,745 55 
2,196,054 17 
3,020,083 61 
3,644,241 53 
4,628,229 44 
3,771,031 46 
3,387,160 67 
4,097,248 x2 
4,006,698 03 
3,829,729 33 
3,492,031 85 
3,198,883 59 
3,350,985 28 
3,762,208 07 



Aggregates 



$5,483,323 05 $42,713,108 92 $13,344,039 66 $61,540,47163 



214 



NATIONAL BANKS. 



The following condensed table shows the taxes, both National and State, paid 
by the national banks during each year from 1866 to 1880, inclusive, and their 
ratios to capital ; 





a. 
o 
O 

OS 

"P. 

5 


Amount of taxes. 


Ratio of tax to 
Capital. 


Years. 


United 
Slates. 


State. 


Total. 


0j 0J 

= s 


o> 


OS 

© 


1866 


§410,593,435 
422,804,666 
420,143,s91 
419,619.860 
429.414,041 
451.994,133 
472.956,958 
488,778,418 
493.751,679 
503,687.911 
501,788,079 
s85.250.664 
471.064.238 
456,968,504 
457,266.545 


$7,949,451 
9,525 507 
9,465,652 
10.081,244 
10,190,682 
10,649.895 
6,703,910 
7,004,646 
7,256.083 
7,317.531 
7,076,087 
6,902,573 
6.727.232 
7,016,131 
8.118,103 


$8,069,938 
8.813.127 
8,757,656 
7,297,096 
7,465,775 
7.860,078 
8,343,772 
8,499.743 
9,620,326 

10,058,122 
9,701,732 
8,829,304 
8,056.533 
7,603,232 
8,876,822 


$16,019,389 
18,338,734 
18.223.308 
17,378,340 
17.656,357 
18,500.973 
15,047,682 
15,504,394 
16.876,409 
17,375,653 
16,777,819 
15,731,877 
14,783.765 
14,618,363 
15.994,925 


Perct. 
1.9 


Per ct. 
2.0 


Perct. 
3.9 


1867 


2.2 2.1 
2.2| 2.1 
2.4 1.7 
2.4 1.7 
2.4| 1-7 
1.4, 1.8 

1.4 1.8 

1.5 5.0 

r.5 2.0 

2 4 2.0 
i.2 1.9 
1.4' 1-7 
1.5 1.7 
1.8i 1.8 


4 3 


1868 


4.3 


1869 


4.1 


1870 


4.1 


1871 ■ 

1872.... 


4.1 
3.2 


1873 


s.2 


1874 

1875 


3.5 
3.5 


1876 


3.4 


1877 

1878 


3.3 
3.1 


1879 


3.2 


1880 


3.6 






1 





These statistics show that during the fifteen years covered by the table the 
average amount annually paid by the national banks to the States and to the 
United States was $16,589,199, or more than 3£per cent, upon their capital stock ; 
during the last year given, the total amount paid was $15,994,925, or more than i 
per cent, upon the amount of the average circulation of the banks then in oper- 
ation. 

Banks as Holders of Government Bonds. 

The amount of United States bonds held by the national banks on October 1, 
1881, including those pledged as security for circulation and public deposits, was 
$436,120,950, and the average amount held by the other banks and bankers of the 
country, during the. six months ending May 31 last, was $253,201,340. The total 
amount held by all the banks and bankers during the last two years is consider- 
ably more than one-third of the whole interest-bearing funded debt by the United 
States, as follows : 





1880. 


1881. 


National banks 


$403,369,350 

189,187,846 

24,498,604 

14,366'684 


$426,120,950* 

214,880,178 

31,650,668 

16,670,494 




State banks and trust companies 


Private bankers 






Total 


$631,422,454 


$679,322,290 





e Of this amount, $369,608,500 were held as security for circulation, and $56,512,450 for other purposes. 



Aggr< 


'gate 


Capital and Deposits of National and other Banks, at Dates Xearest 








to May 31, in eaeh of the last six years. 
















Savings 












State banks, private 


Savings banks 


banks 






National banks. 


banks, etc. 


with capital. 


without 
capital. 


Total. 


Years 




































i 






2 






m 




i 






.£ 






CS 






a! 






« 










OS 








.— 


c 




£2 


o 




£h 


O 




o 




£$ 


O 






Cu 


o. 




P. 


a. 




ft 


a 




A 




a 


Pk 




c 




0> 


c 




a> 


o 




4) 


o 


O 


o 


OS 






fc 


O 


P 


fc 


O 


ft 


£ 


O 


ft 


'A 


ft 


fc 


o 


ft 


1876... 


2,991 


500.4 


713.5 


3,803 


214.0 


480.0 


26 


5.0 


37.2 


691 


844.6 


6,611 


719.4 


2,075.3 


1877... 


2.078 


481.0 


768.2 


3,799 


218.6 


470.5 


26 


4.9 


38.2 


676 


843.2 


6,579 


704.5 


2,120.1 


1878... 


2,056 


470.4 


677.2 


3,709 


202.2 


413.3 


23 


3.2 


26.2 


668 


803.3 


6,456 


675.8 


1,920.0 


1879... 


2,048 


455.3 


713.4 


3.639 


197.0 


397.0 


29 


4.2 


39.1 


644 


747.1 


6,360 


656.5 


1,893.5 


1880... 


2,076 


455.9 


900.8 


3.798 


190.1 


501.5 


29 


4.0 


34.6 


629 


783.0 


6,532 


650.0 


2,219.9 


1881... 


2.115 


460.2 


1,139,9 


4,016 


206.5 


627.5 


36 


4.2 37.6 


629 


8«2.3 


6,796 


670.9 


2,667.3 



REDUCTION OF TAXES. 

CHAPTER XVI. 



215 



Reduction of Internal Revenue Taxation and of 
Customs Duties, 



PART I. 

Bill in the House of Rep re 
sentatives. 

Repeal of Stamp Tax on Bank Checks. 
Drafts, Orders, and Touchers — Of the 
Tax on the Capital and Deposits of 
Banks— On Matches, Medicinal Prep- 
arations, and License of certain Ped- 
dlers—Reduction of Tax on Cigars, 
Cigarettes, etc. 

On June 27, 1882, the following bill 
for the reduction of certain internal 
revenue taxes, a matter in which the 
people were deeply interested, was 
passed by the Republican House of Rep- 
resentatives. 

Be it enacted, etc., That on and after the passage 
of this act, except as hereinafter provided, the 
taxes herein specified imposed by the internal 
revenue laws now in force be, and the same are 
hereby, repealed, namely : The stamp tax on 
bank checks, drafts, orders, and vouchers; the 
tax on the capital and deposits of banks and 
bankers under section 3408 of the Revised Statutes 
of the United States, as amended; the tax on the 
capital and deposits of national banks under sec- 
tion 5214 of said Revised Statutes, not including 
the taxes on the capital and deposits of said banks, 
bankers, and national banks for the six months' 
period ending in the case of national banks on 
the 30th day of June, 1882, and in the Ci.se of other 
banks and bankers on the 31st day of May, 1882; 
the tax on matches, perfumery, me icinal pre- 
parations, and other articles imposed by Schedule 
A following section 3437 of said Revised Statute s. 

Sec. 2. That from and after the 1st day of May, 
eighteen hundred and eighty-three, dealers in leaf 
tobacco shall pay 812; dealers in manufactured 
tobacco shall pay 82.40; all manufacturers of to- 
bacco shall pay 86; manufacturers of cigars shall 
pay 86. Peddlersof tobacco, snuff, and cigars shall 
pay special taxes as follows: Peddlers of the first- 
class, as now defined by law, shall pay 830; ped- 
dlers of the second class shall pay 815; peddlers 
of the third class shall pay 87.20; and peddlers of 
the fourth class shall pay 83.60. Retail dealers in 
leaf tobacco shall pay 8250, ana 30 cents for each 
dollar on the amount of their monthly sales in 
excess of the rate of five hundred dollars. 

Sec. 3. That on cigars which shall be manu- 
factured and sold, or removed for consumption or 
use, there shall be assessed and collected the fol- 
lowing taxes, to be paid by the manufacturer 
thereof: On cigars of all descriptions, made of 
tobacco or any substitute therefor, 84 per thou- 
sand ; on cigarettes weighing not more than three 
pounds per thousand, 75 cents per thousand ; on 
cigarettes weighing more than three pounds per 
thousand, 84 per thousand; Provided, That on 
all original unbroken packages of checks, 
matches, cigars, sheroots, and cigarettes held by 
manufacturers or dealers on the passage of this 
act, upon which the tax has been paid, there shall 
be allowed a rebate or drawback of the full 
amount of the reduction. It shall be the duty of 



the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with the 
approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, to 
adopt such rules and regulations and to prescribe 
and furnish such blanks and forms as may be nec- 
essary to carry this act into effect. 

The House passes the Bill— yeas 127, 
nays 80. 

Yeas — Messrs. W. Aid rich, Barr, Bayne, Bel" 
ford. Bingham, Bisbee, Blanchard, Bliss, Bowman' 
J. H. Brewer, Briggs, Browne, Buck, J. C. Burrows> 
Butter worth, Calkins, Campbell, Candler, Cannon, 
Carpenter, Caswell, Chace, Covington, Crapo, Cul- 
len, Darrall, G. R. Davis, Deering, De Motte, Deus- 
ter, Dezendorf, Dowd, Ellis, Errett, S. S. Farwell, 
Fisher, Flower, Frost, Geddes, George, Gibson, God- 
shalk, Guenther, J. Hammond, Harmer, B. W. 
Harris, H. S. Harris, Heilman, A. S. Hewit, J. Hill, 
Hixjock, Hoblitzell, Horr, Hubbell, Hubbs, Hum- 
phrey, Jacobs, Jadwin, P. Jones, Joyce, Kasson, 
Kelley, Ketcham, Lewis, Lord, Mackey, McClure, 
McCook, McLane, Miles, S. H. Miller, Moore, Morey, 
Morse, Neai. Norcross. O'Neill, Orth, Parker, Peelle, 
Peirce. Pettlbone, Phister, Pound, Prescott, Ran- 
ney, Ray, Reed, Rich, D. P. Richardson, G. D. 
Robinson, J. S. Robinson, Moss, W. A. Russell, 
Scoville, Scranton, . Shackelford, Shallenberger, 
Shultz. A. H. Smith, D. C. Smith, J. H. Smith, 
Spauiding, Speer, Spooner, E. F. Stone, Strait, W. 
G. Thompson, Tillman, A. Townseud, Tyler, J. T. 
Updegraff, Urner, Valentine, Van Aernam, Van 
Horn, Van Voorhis, Wadsworth, Wait, Walker, 
Washburn, Webber, West, Willis, Willits, Wilson, 
T. L. Young— 127. 

Nays/— Messrs. Anderson. Armfield, Atkins, Belmont, 
Berry, Bland, Blount, Bkumm, Buchanan, Buckner. 
Cabell, Caldwell, Carlisle, F. C. Clements, Cobb, Cole- 
rick, Cook, S. S. Cox, W. R. Cox, Cravens, Culberson, 
Cutis, Davidson, L. H. Davis, Dibrcll, Dingley, Du- 
gro, Dunnell, Forney, Fulkerson. Gunter, N.J. 
Hammond, I. S. Hazeltine, Hatch, G. C. Hazelton, 
Hepburn, Herbert, G. W. Htwitt, Hoge, Holman 
Hooker, House, G. W. Jones, J. K. Jones, Jorgensen. 
Kenna, King, Knott, Latham, Manning, Matson, Mc- 
Kenzie, McMillin. Mills, Morrison, Moulton, Mol- 
drew, Payson, Phelps, Reagan, J. B. Rice, T. M. 
Rice, Ritchie, Rosecraris, Scales, Shdley, Sjmrks, 
Springer, Stockslager, P. B. Thompson, jr., R. W. 
Townshend, Tucker, 0. Turner, Upson, Vance, R. 
Warner, Welborn, J. L). White, Wttthorne, T. Wil- 
liams—Mi. 



PART II. 
The Bill in the Senate. 

Repeal of Stamp Tax on Bank Checks, 
Drafts, Orders, and Vouchers — Of 
Taxes on Bank Capital and Deposits- 
Reduction of Taxes on certain ped- 
dlers' licenses— On Matches, Patent 
Medicines, Ac,— On Cigars and Cigar- 
ettes, &c— Of the Customs Duties on 
Molasses, Sugar-cane Juice, and Su- 
gars, «fcc— On Steel Railway Bars and 
Railway Bars made in part of Steel, 



216 



REDUCTION OF TAXES. 



*c.-On Hoop, Band, and Scroll Iron, 
«&c. 

On July 6, 1883, this bill was reported by 
Mr. Morrill, from the Senate Committee 
on Mnance. It was considered in the 
committee of the whole, recommitted, 
and on the 12th was again reported to 
the Senate with important modifica- 
tions of its provisions as follows : 

Be it enacted, etc., That the taxes herein specified 
imposed by the laws now iu force be, and the 
same are hereby, repealed as hereinafter provi- 
ded, namely : The taxes on capital and deposits of 
banks and bankers, except such taxes as are now 
due and payable ; and on and after the first day of 
October, eighteen hundred and eighty-two, the 
st amp- tax on bank-checks, drafts, orders, and 
vouchers, and the tax on inntcnes, perfumery, 
medicinal preparations, and other articles imposed 
by Schedule A following section thirty-four hun- 
dred and tnirty-seven of the Revised Statutes: 
Provided, That no drawback shall be allowed upon 
articles embraced in said schedule that shall be 
exported ou and after the first day of October 
eighteen hundred and eighty-two: Provided fur- 
ther, That on and after August fifteenth, eighteen 
hundred and eighty-two, matches may be re- 
moved by manufacturers thereof from the place 
of manufacture to warehouses within the United 
States without attaching thereto the stamps re- 
quired by law, under such regulations as may be 
prescribed by the Commissioner of Internal Rev- 
enue. 

Sec. 2. That from and after the first day of May, 
eighteen hundred and eighty- three, dealers in 
leaf-tobacco shall annually pay twelve dollars; 
dealers in manufactured tobacco shall pay two 
dollars and forty cents ; all manufacturers of to- 
bacco shall pay six dollars; manufacturers of ci- 
gars shall pay six dollars; peddlers of tobacco, 
snuff, and cigars shall pay special taxes, as fol- 
lows: Peddlers of the first class, as now defined by 
law, shall pay thirty dollars ; peddlers of the sec- 
ond class shall pay fifteen dollars ; peddlers of the 
third class shall pay seven dollars and twenty 
cents; and peddlers of the fourth class shall pay 
three dollars and sixty cents. Retail dealers in 
leaf-tobacco shall pay two hundred and fifty dol- 
lars, and thirty cents for each dollar on the 
amount of their monthly sales in excess of the 
rate of five hundred dollars per aunum. 

Sec. 3. That on cigars which shall be manu- 
factured and sold, or removed for consumption or 
sale on and after the first day of October, eighteen 
hundred and eighty- two, there shall be assessed 
and collected the following taxes, to be paid by 
the manuiacturer thereoi : On cigars of all de- 
scriptions, made of tobacco or any substitute 
therefor, lour dollars per thousand; on cigarettes 
■weighing not more tnan three pounds per thou- 
sand, seventy-five cents per thousand; on cigar- 
ettes weighing more than three pounds per thou- 
sand, four dollars per tuousand. 

Sec 4. That on and after the first day of October, 
eighteen hundred and eighty- two, so much of 
section three of an act approved March third, 
eighteen hundred and seventy-five, entitled "An 
act to further protect the sinking fund and pro- 
vide for the exigencies of the government," as 
imposes an additional duty ot twenty- five per cen- 
tum on all molasses, tank- bottoms, sirup of sugar- 
cane juice, melada, and on sugars, according to 
the Dutch standard in color, imported from foreign 
countries, is hereby repealed ; and the duties on 
such articles shad be and remain the same as 
before the passage of said act. And the Secretary 
of the Treasury is hereby autborized and directed 
to cause proper Dutch standards of sugar to be fur- 
nished for use in tne collection of duties on sugar, 
and to declare by regulation the true saccharine 
strength which shall be equivalent to each number 
of such standard. And in any case where the 
strength of the imported sugar is, in proportion to 
its color, above the' proper strengtn for that color 
by the Dutch staudard, dut.es shall be charged ac- 



cording to the strength, and not according to the 
color. 

sec 5. That section twenty-five hundred and 
four, title thirty-three, of the Revised Statutes of 
the United States, be amended by adding to 
Schedule E of said title the following: 

" That on and after the first day of October, 
eighteen hundred and eighty-two, the duty on 
steel railway bars, and railway bars made in part 
of steel, shall be twenty dollars per ton; and 
that on all manufactures, articles, vessels, and 
wares made from hoop, band, or scroll iron, or 
of which hoop, band, or scroll iron shall be the 
component material of chief value, there shall 
be levied, collected, and paid the same duty, or 
rate of duty, as that imposed on the hoop, band, 
or scroll iron from which they are made, or 
which shall be the component material of chief 
value." 

Sec. 6. That the reduction of duties provided for 
by this act shall also apply to all goods, wares, 
and merchandise on deposit in warehouses or 
public stores on the first day of October, eighteen 
hundred and eighty-two. 

When the bill reached the Senate, it 
was amended in Committee so as to en- 
large its provisions, adding to the re- 
peal and reductions of internal revenue 
taxes important modifications' and re- 
ductions of our customs duties — all for 
the relief of business and of the great 
body of the people. But the Democ- 
racy assailed it m every way. In the 
Senate, they attempted to overload it 
with amendments which, if adopted, 
would in efiect have swept away all 
customs duties, have practically abol- 
ished our present tariff, and the largest 
portion of our internal revenue taxes. 
By these and prolonged debate in their 
discussion the Democracy succeeded in 
defeating this important measure for 
the relief of the people. 



PART III. 
The Carlisle Bill of 1881. 

Repeal of all Taxes on Bank Checks, 
Drafts, and Orders — On Bank Depos- 
its — On Matches, Patent Medicines, 
Cosmetics, Colognes, «&c. — Prayed for 
by many thousands of Memorialists 
in all occupations of life. 

The following is the bill introduced 
in the House at the previous session by 
Mr. Carlisle, of Kentucky, from the 
Democratic Committee of Ways and 
Means : 

Beit enacted by the Senate and House of- Representa- 
tives of the United States of America in Congress as- 
sembled, That all laws and parts of laws imposing 
taxes ou bank checks, drafts, and orders, deposits 
in banks, or with persons, associations, companies, 
or corporations engaged in the business of bank- 
ing, and all laws imposing taxes on friction 
matches and on medicines or preparations, per- 
fumery, cosmetics, and other articles mentioned 
in Schedule A, section thirty-four hundred and 
thirty-seven of the Revised Statutes of the United 
States, except wax tapers, cigar-lights, and play- 
ing cards, be, and the same are hereby, repealeu : 
Provided, Tnat all cordials, bitters, and other like 
preparations containing distilled spirits, and 
which are capable of being used as a beverage, 



PUBLIC LANDS. 



217 



and which shall contain more than twenty per 
centum of proof-spirits, by whatsoever name 
they may be called, shall continue to be subject 
to the stump-tax prescribed in said Schedule A, 
section thirty- four hundred and thirty-seven of 
the Revised Statutes of the United States: And 
provided further, That this repeal shall not take ef- 
fect, except as to bank deposits, until the expira- 
tion of three months after the passage of this act. 

Mr. Carlisle's Report from the House 
Democratic Committee of Ways and 
Means in support of Bill. 

This bill was accompanied by a re- 
port (H. R. 307, 46th Cong., 3d Sess.) 
made by Mr. Carlisle in support of the 
repeal of these taxes. He urges : 

The repeal of these taxes and some others also 
was recommended by the Secretary of the Treas- 
ury and by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue 
in their last annual reports, and has been urged 
upon Congress during the present session by many 
thousand memorialists residing in all parts of the 
country and engaged in all the various occupa- 
tions of lite. 

********** 

The taxes which it is propo-ed to repeal, and 
the amounts realized from them in 1880, are as iol- 
lows : 

Bank checks, drafts, and orders #2,270,421 00 

Bank deposits, other than national 

and savings banks 2,347,568 07 

Friction matches 3,561,300 00 

Medicines, perfumery, cosmetics, &c. 1,836,673 22 

National bank deposits 4,058,710 61 

Savings banks deposits 163,207 36 

Total 14,237,880 26 



In conclusion Mr. Carlisle urges : 

It may be stated generally, however, that if the 
reduction of taxation at the present time is to be 
confined entirely to the articles embraced in the 
internal -revenue laws, there would seem to 
be more propriety in selecting at first those small 
items which affect the business and consumption 
of a great number of people thau there would be 
in attempting merely to reduce the rate upon dis- 
tilled spirits, fermented liquors, manufactured to- 
bacco, snuff, and cigars, from which the great bulk 
of the internal revenue is derived. 

No one who understands the real necessities of 
the government would be willing to advocate the 
immediate repeal of the entire internal revenue 
system, nor would it be wise in the judgment of 
your committee to disturb business and derange 
existing values by agitating at this time the ques- 
tion of either reducing or increasing taxes upon 
the principal articles just mentioned. These and 
other considerations have induced the committee 
to agree upon the bill herewith reported. The re- 
peal of the taxes upon bank checks, drafts, and or- 
ders, bank deposits, friction matches, medicines, and 
medicinal preparations, perfumery, and cosmetics 
will not disturb any of the business interests of the 
country. It will not be a mere experiment upon 
the revenues of the government, because the ex- 
tent to which it will affect the receipts can be cal- 
culated in advance with almost absolute certainty; 
nor can it be said with justice that the relief af- 
forded by the proposed repeal will not be equitably 
distributed according to the character and mag- 
nitude of the interests involved. 

Yet, when a repeal of these taxes was 
seriously proposed, with important 
modifications of our customs duties, ex- 
tending real relief to business and a 
large body of our people, the Democ- 
racy united in defeating them. 



OHAPTEE XVII. 



The Public Lancte, 



PART I. 

Policy of Granting Pnblic 
Lands for Internal Im- 
provement Purposes. 

Tbat Policy begun in 1850— Aggregate 
of Land appropriated between 1850 
and 1861— Aggregate between 1861 and 
1870, the date of Last Grant— Largest 
Appropriations prior to 1861— Botb 
parties pledged to Build Pacific Roads 
— Built by the Republicans— Sources 
of Vast Wealth and Power to the Na- 
tion—The Largest Aggregate of Grants 
made prior to 1861 by the Democracy. 

It was not until 1850 that the policy of 
appropriating alternate portions of the 
public lands for internal improvement 
purposes was adopted by Congress. 



There were thus granted of the public 
lands from 1850 to 1861 : 

Acres. 
To States for railroads pur- 
poses 29,971,226 

To States for canals 3,705,986 

Total for railroads and 
canals 33,677,212 

From 1861 to 1870, the date of the last 
grant : 

To States for railroads 28,932,553 

To States for canals 700,000 

To States for wagon roads.. . 3,225,413 

Total for railroads, canals, 
and wagon roads 32,857,966 

The building of the great continental 
lines of railroads, the Pacific roads, was 
advocated by both parties prior to 1861. 
It was urged by Presidents Pierce and 



■ 



218 



FINANCIAL RECORD. 



Buchanan in their official communica- 
tions with Congress. Their construc- 
tion was everywhere urged as a dis- 
tinctive Democratic measure, and was 
advocated by both parties in their plat- 
forms of 1856 and 1860. Under Pierce's 
and Buchanan's administrations the ex- 
pensive surveys for those roads were 
made, the reports of which Congress 
printed in thirteen large quarto vol- 
umes, and when the Republican party 
assumed the reins of government in 
1861, it was, like the Democracy, 
pledged to their construction. They 
therefore built them. In doing so they 
have conferred upon the nation vast 
and permanent sources of wealth and 
power. 

In the construction of these continen- 
tal lines of road, that is, the Atlantic 
and Pacific, the Central and Union, and 
the Northern Pacific lines, Congress 
granted an area of land estimated at 
135,000,000 acres. There have also been 
granted at different times about 60,000,- 



000 acres of swamp lands to the States 
on condition that the proceeds thereof 
should be devoted to their reclamation. 
Thus we have as the aggregate grants 
by Congress to corporations and {States 
for internal improvements : 

Acres. 

Grants to States for rail- 
roads 58,903,779 

Grants to States for wagon 
roads 3,212,453 

Grants to States for canals.. 4,405,986 

Grants to States for swamp 
lands 60,000,000 

Grants to Continental rail 
roads 135,000,000 

Total for improvement and 
reclamation 261,545,173 

And it will be noticed that, outside of 
the grants to the Continental lines, the 
largest aggregate of grants was made 
prior to 1861 by the Democracy. 



CHAPTEE XVIII. 



Financial Record of the Republican Party. 



PART I. 

Republican Party in I860 
found a Bankrupt Treas- 
ury with Bonds bearing 
12 per cent, interest — 
Democratic Mal-Admin- 
istration had brought Fi- 
nancial Ruin upon the 
Country — And ended in 
attempting to destroy the 
Government. 

The financial record of Democratic 
mal-administration of this government 
practically closed in 1860. The Treas- 
ury was bankrupt, and to raise money 
to pay the ordinary expenses of the 
government the Democratic adminis- 
tration was compelled to issue Treasury 
notes to the amount of $10,010,900, at a 
rate of interest as high as 12 per cent. — 
a rate almost unprecedented— a rate 
which has never since been equalled, 
even in the darkest hour of the civil 
war. Capitalists even demanded 15 to 
36 per cent. 



Under a subsequent act — that of Feb- 
ruary, 1861, — an attempt was made to 
effect a loan of twenty-five millions, at 
six per cent., but it was abandoned after 
a portion of it had been sold at a little 
over eighty-nine cents on the dollar. So 
low, indeed, had the credit of the govern- 
ment fallen that the Secretary of the 
Treasury in January 1861, appealed to 
Congress, to ask the States to pledge the 
deposits received by them under the dis- 
tribution act of 1836, as security for any 
money the government might find it 
necessary to borrow. 

The Republicans Successful— But find 
Financial Ruin and a Dismembered 
Union. 

On the 4th of March, 1861, the Repub- 
lican party came into possession of this 
bankrupt Treasury, and found seven 
States in rebellion, a confederate gov- 
ernment organized and in possession of 
forts, arsenals, navy yards, soldiers, 
mints and custom houses. It found the 
army dismembered and inefficient, its 
navy scattered to the four corners of the 
earth, and its arms in the hands of the 
enemy. 

But it did not falter. On the ruin it 
found, it organized, armed, equipped 
and supplied a mighty army, and built 



FINANCIAL RECORD. 



219 



and manned the greatest navy the world 
had ever seen. It kept these mighty- 
forces in the tield for four years, at an 
expense of more than six thousand mil- 
lions of dollars. 

Legal-Tender Xotes issued — Wisdom 
and Forbearance amidst Temptation. 
The Issue Limited and the Public 
Credit saved. 

The first great measure of financial 
relief was enacted in 1862 for the issue 
of legal tender notes. Then followed 
the acts of February and July, 1862 and 
March, 1863, providing for the issue of 
$450,000,000 of greenbacks. Of course 
rapid depreciation followed, and the 
greater the depreciation the greater the 
necessity for more. 

Up to this time the government had 
followed a beaten path. To continue in 
that path would be easy, and the temp- 
tation to follow it was fearful. The 
money was needed, and nothing was so 
easy as to set the printing presses to 
work again and make it. But the Re- 
publican party, with a courage never 
equaled, and a sagacity never before 
seen and in the midst of distress, neces- 
sity and a temptation almost overwhelm- 
ing, it enacted into a law this solemn 
declaration : — 

Xor shall the total amount of United 
States notes issued or to be issued ever 
exceed $400,000,000, and such additional 
sum, not exceeding $50,000,000, as may 
be temporarily required for the redemp- 
tion of the temporary loan. 

The Citadel of Public Credit — Demo- 
cratic Assaults upon it. 

This declaration was then, and has 
since been, the citadel of the financial 
integrity of the Republic, against which 
the foes of the Republic have dashed in 
vain. 

The Democracy denounced the issue 
of these notes when they were neces- 
sary to save the life of the nation ; but 
in times of peace, when an unlimited 
issue of such notes would destroy the 
national credit, they demanded an un- 
limited issue. They denounced the sus- 
pension of specie payments when specie 
payments were impossible; but when 
resumption became possible they strug- 
gled to prevent it. 

Provision for Payment of the Public 
Debt in the midst of War. 

Even in the midst of war, surrounded 
and beset by traitors in the field and in 
the halls of Congress, the Republican 
party found time to consider and take 
measures for the payment of the public 
debt which was so rapidly growing, and 
as early as February 22, 1862, they enac- 
ted what is now section 3694 of the Re- 
vised Statutes : 



Gold Interest Pledged. 

Sec. 3694. The coin paid for duties on 
imported goods shall be set apart as a 
special fund and shall be applied as fol- 
lows: 

First. To the payment in coin of the 
interest on the bonds and notes of the 
United States. 

Second. To the purchase or payment 
of 1 per cent, of the entire debt of the 
United States, to be made within each 
fiscal year, which is to be set apart as a 
sinking fund, and the interest of which 
shall in like manner be applied to the 
purchase or payment of the public debt, 
as the Secretary of the Treasury shall 
from time to time direct. 

Third. The residue to be paid into the 
Treasury. 

This was a promise to pay interest on 
our bonds in coin, and to provide for the 
gradual payment of the principal. 

Further Democratic Assaults on the 
Public Credit. 

This law has also been reviled and 
execrated by the Democracy, and legis- 
lative attempts to destroy its validity 
have been frequent, simply because a 
disregard of its provisions would amount 
to repudiation. 

Its repeal during the war would have 
destroyed our credit and given success 
to the traitors in arms against us; hence 
the Democracy demanded its repeal 
during the war. Its repeal since the 
war would have dishonored us in the 
eyes of the whole world. Hence the 
Democracy demanded its repeal since 
the war. 

The War Ended— leaving an enormous 
Indebtedness— The Dark Days of Debt 
and Doubt. 

Thanks to the valor of our soldiers, 
the patriotism of our people and the sa- 
gacity of our statesmen, the war was 
brought to a successful termination. 
Our public debt at that time was as fol- 
lows. 

Four percents $618,127 98 

Five percents 268,175.727, 65 

Six percents 1,281,736,439, 33 

Seven and three- 
t enths per- 
cent 830,000,000 00 

$2,381,530,294 96 

Debt not bearing interest 463,119,331 60 

Total 2,844,649,626, 56 

Less cash in the Treasury 88,218.055, 13 

Net debt 2,756,431,571 43 

Annual interest charge 250,877,697 87 

This was the highest point of indebt- 
edness reached, and it was promptly 
determined to begin its reduction at 
once, and thus inspire our people with 
courage, and our creditors with confi- 
dence. 



220 



FINANCIAL RECORD. 



Measures of Relief— Restoration of 
Credit and Confidence. 

To that end the surplus revenues were 
applied to the reduction of the debt, 
and up to June 30, 1882, the aggregate re- 
duction of interest bearing debt, was 
$937,719,894, and in annual interest of 
$96,199,893. About $56,000,000 of this 
saving of interest has been in conse- 
quence of the reduction of the princi- 
pal of the debt, and about $40,000,000 
has been in consequence of the improved 
credit of the government. The aver- 
age interest on the debt at the close of 
the war was 6.6 per cent. ; the average 
interest to-day is 3.8 per cent. The 
debt per capita at the close of the war 
was $78.25; the debt per capita to-day 
is about $30. The annual interest per 
capita was $4.29 at the close of the war; 
to-day it is about $1. 

The result has been that year by year 
the people have grown stronger and 
more hopeful, and the holders of our 
securities more confident. The legal- 
tender notes gradually appreciated from 
38 cents on the dollar 'in 1864 to 66 cents 
in 1866, 71 cents in 1867, 73 cents in 1869, 
and 85 cents in 1870. 

More Democratic Assaults on the Pub- 
lic Credit. 

But the enemy was all this time at 
work to undermine the public credit. 
In the early days of the war the Demo- 
cratic party began to appeal to ignor- 
ance and prejudice and arouse hostility 
to United States securities because they 
were not taxed ; and again and again 
did they attempt to impose a tax upon 
them. The Constitution, as expounded 
by Chief Justice Marshall in 1819, 'left 
no power to the States, by taxation, or 
otherwise, to retard, impede, burden, or 
in any manner control the operations of 
the constitutional laws enacted by Con- 
gress to carry into effect the powers 
vested in the national Government," 
and there had been since an unbroken 
line of decisions to the same end. But 
to save the public credit harmless 
against these attacks the Kepublican 
Congress was obliged to reaffirm in 
statutes this constitutional exemption. 
It did so twice in 1862, again in 1863, 
twice in 1864, twice in 1865, again in 
1870. And section 3701 of the Eevised 
Statutes — "all stocks, bonds, Treasury 
notes, and other obligations of the 
United States shall be exempt from tax- 
ation by or under State or municipal or 
local authority" — is a monument to the 
folly of the opposition and to the deter- 
mined purpose of the Kepublican party 
to strengthen the credit of their country. 

From 1867 onward there was a vigor- 
ous warfare waged against the coin 
character of the bonds, principal and 
interest. Again a Republican Congress 
came to the rescue of our imperiled 



credit, and in March, 1869, to strengthen 
and establish it, enacted into law these 
provisions, now contained in section 
3693 of the Revised Statutes : 

The faitli of the United States is solemnly 
pledged to the payment in coin or its equivalent 
of all the obligations of the United States not 
hearing interest, known as United States notes, 
and of all the interest-hearing obligations of the 
United States, except in cases where the law 
authorizing the issue of any such obligations 
has expressly provided that the same may be 
paid in lawful money or other currency than 
gold or silver. * * * The faith of the 
United States is also solemnly pledged to make 
provision at the earliest practicable period for 
the redemption of the United States notes in 
coin. 

Instantly upon the passage of this law 
the Democracy, in and out of Congress, 
aided by greenbackers, nationalists, 
communists, etc., etc., assailed it, and 
the assault has since been constant ; but 
the law still stands as a monument to 
Republican lidelity to principle. 

Then followed the re-fun din £ acts of 
July, 1870, and January, 1871, by which 
the 5 per cent, bonds were refunded at 
4i and 4 per cent interest. 

The Resumption Act. 

From this time to 1875 the legal tender 
notes were fluctuating between 82 and 
92, and a Republican Congress deter- 
mined that good faith required their 
payment, and on January 14, 1875, they 
passed "an act to provide for the re- 
sumption of specie payments." 

Sec. 3 * * * And on and after the 
1st day of January, A. D. 1879, the Secretary of 
the Treasury shall redeem, in coin, the United 
States legal-tender notes then outstanding on 
their presentation for redemption at the office 
of the assistant treasurer of the United States 
in the city of New York, in sums of not less than 
$10. 

democratic determination to defeat 
the Dept-payers — Resumption Ridi- 
culed and Ruin Predicted. 

From that day to the day set for re- 
sumption every possible combination 
was formed by the enemies of the gov- 
ernment — the foes of public credit- 
again st that law. The Democracy 
rushed into the embraces of the green- 
backers, and gathered the communists 
into their arms. All sorts of dire ca- 
lamities were predicted as a result of 
resumption, the total ruin of the govern- 
ment and the people being among the 
smallest. Scores of bills were intro- 
duced to repeal the act, and every cam- 
paign, State and National, was fought 
upon the issue. 

Resnmption Accomplished. 

But the Republican party stood by its 
guns, and on January 1, 1879, the re- 
sumption provided for by law became 
resumption in fact, and not a ripple dis- 
turbed the calm serenity of the finan- 



FINANCIAL RECORD. 



221 



cial waters. Greenbacks were as good 
as gold, and our bonds commanded a 
premium in all the money markets of 
the world. 

Unbounded Prosperiiy and unlimited 
Public Credit follow'Resninption. 

The "widespread ruin" predicted by 
the Democracy did not come. The 
"sharks of Wall Street" did not make 
their predicted raid on the gold in the 
Treasury. 

On the contrary, with resumption was 
opened a season of prosperity such 
as this country never before witnessed ; 
and there are millions of dollars more 
of gold in the Treasury now than there 
were on the day of resumption. 

That our credit abroad is greater than 
that of any other nation on earth is 
evinced by the fact that our four per 



heavy 

a lower rate of 



premium, 



cents, command a 

whereas a bond bearing 

interest than four per cent, has never 

been sold at par in any country. 



An Unparalled Achievement. 

In a word when the Republican party 
took possession of the government it 
found a bankrupt Treasury, whose 
bonds bore 12 per cent, interest, and 
sold at a discount ; it carried the country 
through a long and bloody war at a cost 
of more than six thousand millions of 
dollarsi; and it has since restored the 
public credit so that its bonds, bearing 
4 per cent interest, command a heavy 
premium, its 3 per cents, sell at par, and 
its legal tender notes are receivable at 
par with gold in every great commer- 
cial centre of the world. 



222 



FINANCIAL RECORD. 

PART II. 



Analysis of the Principal of the Public Debt of the United States from July 

1, 1856, to July 1, 1882, 

Cents omitted. 

Prepared at the Treasury Department, Warrant Division, Washington, D. C. July 1, 1882. 



Year. 



3 per cts. 
A. 



4 per cts. 



\]/ 2 per cts. 



1856-Julyl. 
1857 , 



1858. 
1859. 
1860. 
1861. 
1862. 



1863 : , 

1864 ; 

1865 ! 

1865— Ausrust 31 ! 

1866— Jin vl i 

1867 ! 

1868 j $64,000. 

1869 66,125, 

1870 59,550, 

1871 45.885, 

1872 24,665, 

1873 14,000, 

1874 14,000, 

1875 14,000. 

1876 ! 14,000, 

1877 1 14,000 

1878 \ 14,000 

1879 1 14.000 

1880 1 14,000, 

1881 14000 

1882 14.000 



00) 

ouo 

000 

,000 
,000 
,000 
ooo 
,000 
,000' 
,0001 
,000 
,000 
,000' 
,000' 
,000 



$57,92.6116 

105,629,3S5 

77.547,696 

90,496,930 

618,127 

121.341,879 

17,737,025 

801.361 



678,000 
678,000 
678.000 
678.000 
678.00 



98.850,010 
i741.522,O0O 
739,347,800 
739.347.800 
739,349.350 



5 per cts. 



$140,000,000 
24>,000,<0 
250,000.000 
250,000,000 
250,0i -0,00 
250.00-1,000 



43 
38 
30 
30 
300, 
245 
269, 
.01 
198, 
221 
221 
221 
274 
114, 
114 
510, 
607 
711, 
703, 
703, 
5. '8 
481, 
439, 



632,000 
489.000 
,538,800 
127,800 
476,300 
,022.200 
483,000 
483,000 
,213,480 
709,420 
175,727 
982,663 
,533,435 
586,185 
588,300 
588,300 
236,450 
567,300 
567,300 
628,050 
132,750 
685,800 
266,650 
266,650 
410.350 
864,900 
841,350 



6 per cts. 



7 3-10 per 
cents. 



$28,130,761 

24.971.9.>8i 

2 1, 162,8381 

21,162,938; 

21,164,538i 

57,358,673! 

154,313,2251 

431,444,813' 

842,882,652 

1.213,495,169 

1,281,736,439 

1,195,546,041 

1.5i3,452,0S0 

i .878,303,984 

1,874,347.222 

1,765.317.422 

1.613,897,30) 

1,374,883,800 

1,281,238,650 

1,213,624,700 

1,100,865,550 

984,999,650 

854,621.850 

738.619,000 

§283,681,350 

235,780,400 

196,378,600 



Total in- 
terest bear- 
ing debt. 



1122.582,485 
139.974,433 
139,286,935 
671,610.397 
830,000,000 
813,460,621 
488.344,846 
37,397.196 



$31,762,761 
28.460,958 
44,700,838 
58,290,738 
64,640,838 
90,380,873 
365,304,826 
707,531,634 
,359.930,763 
.221,311,918 
,381,530,294 
,332,331,207 
,248,067,387 
,202,088,727 
,162,060,522 
.046,455,722 
,934,696,750 
,814,794,100 
,710,483-950 
.738-930,750 
722.676,300 
710,685,450 
,711,888,500 
,794,735,650 
,797,643,700 
.723,993,100 
,639,567,750 
.463.810,400 



Ct 



A. The amount of 3£ per cents, in 1882 was $460,461,050. 

PUBLIC DEBT ANALYSIS— Continued. 



War. 



Annual 
interest 
charge, f 



Debt on 
which in- 
terest has 

ceased, 



Debt bear- 
ing no 
interest. 



Outstand- 
ing princi 
pal. 



Cash in 
the Treas- 
ury Julv 
1. 



Total debt 
less cash 

in 
Treasury. 



Popula- 
tion of 
United 
States. % 



Debt 
per 
cap- 



$1,869,445 

1,672,767 

2,446,670 

3,126,166 

3,443,687 

5,092.630 

22,048,509 

41,854.148 

78,853,487 

137,742.617 

150,977,697 

146,068,196 

138,892,451 

128,459,598 

125,523,998 

118,784,960 

111,949,330 

103,988,463 

98,049,804 

98,796,004 

96,855,690 

95.104,269 

93.160,643 

94,654,472 

§33,773,778 

79,633,981 

75,018.695 

1882. ! 1157,360,110 



1856— Julv I-.... 

1857 

1858 

1869 

1860 

1868 

1862 

1863 

1864. ..-i. 

1465 

1865 August 31. 

1866 July 1.... 

1867 

1868 



1870 

1871 

1872 , 

1873 

1874 

1875 

1876 

1877 , 

1878 

1879....* 

1880 

1881. 



$209,776 

238,872 

211,042 

206,099 

201.449 

199,999 

280,195 

473,048 

416,335 

1,245,771 

1,503,020 

935,092 

1,840,615 

1,197,340 

5,260,181 

3.708,641 

1.948,902 

7,926,797 

51,929,710 

3,216,590 

11,425,820 

3,902,420 

16,648,860 

5,594,560 

37,015,630 

7,621,455 

9,723,865 

16,260,805 



$158,591,390 
411,767,456 
455,437,271 
458,090,180 
461,616,311 
429,969,874 
428,218.101 
408,401,782 
421,131,510 
430,508,064 
416,565,680 
430,530,431 
472,069.332 
509,543,128 
498.182,411 
465,807,196 
476,764.031 
455,875,682 
410,835,741 
388,8' 0,815 
422,721,954 
438.241,788 



831,972,537 

28,699,831 

44,911,881 

58,496,837 

64,842,287 

90,580,873 

524.176,412 

1,119,772,138 

1,815,784.370 

2.680,647,869 

2,844,649,626 

2,773,236,173 

2*678, 126,103 

2,611.687,851 

2,588,452,213 

2,480,672.427 

2,353,211.332 

2,253,251,328 

2,234,482,993 

2,251,690,468 

2,232,284,531 

2.180,395,067 

2,205,301,392 

2,256,205.892 

2,245,495,072 

2,120.415,370 

2,069,013,569 

1,918.312,994 



$21,006,584 
18,701,210 
7,011,689 
5,091,603 
4,877,885 
2,862,212 
18,863.659 



$10,965,953 
9,998,621 
37,900,191 
53,465,234 
59,964,402 
87,718,660 

505,312,752 



8,421,4011,111,350,737 



106,332,093 
5,832,012 
88,218,055 
137,200.009 
169,974,892 
130,834,437 
155,680,340 
149,502,471 
106,217,263 
103,470,798 
129,020,932 
147,541,314 



1,709,452,277 
2,674,815,856 
2,756,431,571 
2,636,036,163 
2,508,151,211 
2,480,853,41" 
2,432,771,873 
2,331,169,956 
2,246,994,068 
2,149.780,530 
2,105,462,060 
2,104,149,153 



142,243,361 2,090,041,170 
119,469,726 2,060,925,340 
186,025,960 2,019,275,431 
256,823,6121,999,382,280 

249,080,1671 1,996,414,905 
201,088,62211,919,326,747 
249,363,4151,819,650,154 
243,289,51911,675,023,474 



28,088,000 
28,916,000 
29,753,000 
30,596,000 
31,443,321 
32,064,000 
32,704,000 
33,365,000 
34,046,000 
34,748,000 
35,228.000 
35,469,000 
36,211 ,000 
36,973,000 
37,756,000 
38,558,371 
39,555,000 
40,595.000 
41,676,000 
42,755,000 
43,949,000 
45,135,000 
46,351,000 
47.595,000 
48,863,000 
50,153,000 
51,462,000 
52,799,000 



$0 36 
35 

28 



19 07 
06 
07 
10 
11 
16 
67 

1 25 

2 32 

3 97 

4 29 
4 12 
3 84 
3 48 
3 82 
3 08 
2 83 
2 56 
2 35 
2 31 
2 20 
2 11 
2 01 
1 99 
1 71 
1 59 
1 46 
1 99 



FINANCIAL RFXORD. 



223 



(Notes to preceding Table.) 

* Five and six per cent, bonds issued under act of July 17 and August 5, 1861; March 3, 1863, July 14, 
1870, and January 20, 1871, continued at three an i a halt per cent. 

tThe annual interest-charge is commuted upon the amount of outstanding principal at the close of the 
fiscal vear, and is exclusive ofinterest-charge on Pacific-Railway bonds. 

X the statement of population for I860, 1870, and 18S0 is by enumeration, and for other years from 
estimates prepared by Professor E. B. Elliot, Government Actuary. 

I The figures for July 1, 1879. were made up, assuming pending funding operations to be completed. 

**The Temporary Loan, per act of Julv 11. 1862. is included in the 4 per cents, from 1862 to lSGS in- 
clusive, with the exception of the amount outstanding for August 31, 1865, this being: the date at which 
the public debt reached its highest point. This loan bore interest from 4 per cent, to 6 per cent , and was 
redeemable on ten-days' notice after 30 d*fs : but being constantly changing, it has been considered more 
equitable to include the whole amount outstanding as bearing 4 per cent, interest on an average for the 
year. 

|The monthly interest charge ha* therefore been reduced from §12,581,474, in 1865, to $4,780,009 in 1882. 



PART III. 

Analysis of Foregoing Ta- 
ble. 

Character of the Debt bearing: Interest 
—The Funding- of the 5 and 6 per cent. 
Bonds by Secretary Windom— An An- 
nual Saving- to the Nation of 810,473,- 
952.25 ! 

The debt bearing 8 per cent, interest 
is that known as the Navy Pension 
Fund, the interest on which is payable 
in lawful money, and its use confined to 
the payment of naval pensions exclu- 
sively. 

When the administration of General 
Garfield came into power there were 
outstanding $469,320,650 in United States 
bonds bearing 5 per cent, interest, and 
$302,266,550, bearing interest at 6 per 
cent. These bonds were redeemable at 
the pleasure of the Government after 
June 30, 1881, and Congress having ad- 
journed without providing for their re- 
tirement, Secretary Windom imme- 
diately upon his accession to office, took 
steps to reduce the annual rate of inter- 
est witli such success that within the 
next few months the holders of the 
greater portion of the bonds mentioned 
above, requested their continuance dur- 
ing the pleasure of the Government at 
3i per cent, interest per annum. 

The amount of 6 per cent, bonds con- 
tinued under this arrangement was 
$178,055,150, and of 5 per cent, bonds 
$401,504,900, thus effecting an annual 
saving of interest amounting to $10,473,- 
952.25 by this single operation, while at 
the same time the surplus revenues of the 
Government have been devoted to the 
redemption of the remaining 5 and 6 
per cent, bonds outstanding. 

It will be seen that there are no bonds 
outstanding at the present time, on 
which the Government is paying a 
higher rate of interest than 41 per cent. 

Reduction of Debt and Saving- of In- 
terest—Debt Reduced since 1865 8943,- 
926,5-14.96 — Annual Interest charge 
Reduced 894,534,809.37— Grand Total 



of Saving's to Government by the Re- 
publicans 81,673.798,471.34. 

The total interest bearing debt on the 
31st of August, 1865— that is, at the close 
of the rebellion and the date on which 
the national debt reached its highest 
point— was $2,381,530,294.96 ; the annual 
interest charge upon which was $150,- 
977,697.87. Immediately, upon the close 
of the war, the work of reducing the 
debt, both principal and interest, was 
begun by the Kepublicans, and the re- 
funding operations, which began in 1871, 
have reduced the annual interest charge 
year by year, so that the total amount 
of interest saved during the seventeen 
years amounts to $729,871,926.38. 

From August 31, 1865, to August 31, 
1882, the interest -bearing principal of 
the debt has been reduced $943,926,- 
544.96, and the annual interest charge 
has been reduced during the same pe- 
riod $94,534,809.37, with every prospect 
at this present writing of a still further 
reduction of at least $1,500,000 per an- 
num, by the refunding operations now 
in progress under the recent law author- 
izing the ispue of 3 per cents. 

The reduction of the interest-bearing 
debt, amounting to $943,926,544.96, added 
to the amount of interest saved by such 
reduction and by the refunding oper- 
ations, make a grand total of $1,673,- 
798,471.34 saved by the Republicans in 
control of the Government in the seven- 
teen years since 1865. 



Resumption. 

Principal of Debt reduced since Janu- 
ary 1, 1879, 8372,209.100, and Annual, 
Interest Charge 837,809,216— Avail- 
able cash in Treasury August 31, 1882 
8242,960,518.46 — Reduction of Debt 
under President Arthur 8126,701,450. 

The resumption act of January 14, 
1875, went into operation January 1, 
1879. 

The interest-bearing debt of the 
United States at that time amounted to 
81,823,812,850, at an annual interest 
charge of 894,252,104.50, and available 



224 



FINANCIAL RECORD. 



cash in the treasury amounting to $273,- 
896,027.75. 

From January 1, 1879, to August 31, 
1882, the interest-bearing principal of 
the debt has been reduced $372,209,- 
100— the annual interest charge reduced 
$37,809,216.00 ; and the available cash in 
the treasury at the latter date was $242,- 
960,518.46. 

The reduction in the interest-bearing 
principal from March 1, 1881, to August 
31, 1882, was $237,331,250, with a reduc- 
tion of the annual interest charge dur- 
ing the same period of $20,403,049.00. 

Under President Hayes the interest- 
bearing principal of the debt Avas re- 
duced $38,826,450. To this should be 
added $95,500,000— being coin received 
for an equivalent in bonds sold for re- 
sumption purposes, and the reduction 
amounts to $134,326,450. 

Under President Garfield, during the 
administration of the finances by Secre- 
tary Windom, from March 31, to No- 
vember 30, 1881, the reduction of the in- 
terest-bearing principal was $99,012,050. 

Under President Arthur, during the 9 
months from November 30, 1881, to Au- 
gust 31, 1882, Secretary Folger has re- 
duced the interest-bearing princinal 
$126,701,450. 

Explanation of Annual Interest Charge 
Column of above Table. 

The figures opposite the several years 
in the column headed "Annual Interest 
Charge" embrace only the actual inter- 
est accruing on the outstanding princi- 
pal bearing interest during the year. 
Take the year 1870 for illustration. As 
shown in the table, the total interest- 



bearing debt on the 1st of July, 1870, 
was $2,046,455,722.39; the interest upon 
which, accruing during the following 
fiscal year, was as follows: 

$59,550,000, at 3 per cent, int $1,786,500 00 

221,588,300, at 5 per ceut. int 11,079,415 00 

1,765,317,422, at 6 per ceut. int 105,919,045 34 



2,046,455,722 



118,784,960 34r 



As stated in the column of "Annual 
Interest Charge" as the current interest 
of the year. 

The Debt Per Capita— In 1860 the In- 
terest Per Capita only 11 cents— In 
1865, as the Result of Democratic Re- 
bellion, the Interest Per Capita $4.29 
—In 1882, as the Result of Republican 
Honesty and Thrift the Interest Per 
Capita only $1.09. 

In 1860 the total interest-bearing debt 
of the nation was less than $6,5,000,000, 
and the annual tax on each individual 
for the payment of that interest was 
only 11 cents. Here, the Democracy 
precipitated the rebellion. As a conse- 
quence the debt of the nation increased 
rapidly until in August, 1865, at the 
close of hostilities, it amounted to $2,- 
381,530,294,96, and the annual cost to 
each individual for the payment of in- 
terest on this enormous burden was 
$4.29 ! But the Republicans in author- 
ity, in Congress and the executive 
branch of the Government, by the re- 
duction of the interest- bearing debt and 
interest, as explained above, have also 
reduced the cost per capita to meet the 
interest on public debt, since 1865, from 
$4.29 to $1.09! 



The Bonds are Held by the People. 



The following statement shows the amountof registered bonds outstanding at the time of payment 
of the last quarterly dividend of interest, by whom the bonds were held, the amount of interest paid 
quarterly, and the number of interest checks drawn for the payment of such interest each quarter. 
From this it will be seen that out of $1,144,310,350 registered bonds outstanding at the date named, less 
thaxx $30,000,000 are held by foreign investeis. The coupon bond of the 4% per cent, and 4 per cent, 
loans are believed to be yet more widely distributed. 



Bv whom held. 



Funded loan 

of H P^r 

cent. 1891. 



Funded 

loan of 4 

per cent. 

1907. 



Foreign holders 

National banks 

Domestic holders 

Total 

Amount of interest paid quarterly. 
Number of checks drawn quarterly 



A. 

4,821,050 
32,285,900 
185,823,900 



183,430,850 



$2,063,597 06 



11,961 



B. 

8,029,400 
104,402,800 
446,043,300 



559,375,600 



5,593,756 



Funded 
loan of 3^ 

per cent. 
1881 contin- 
ued. 



C. 

17,046,250 
211,021.200 
173,436,450 



401,503,900 



51,443 



$3,513,159 12 
11,607 



Totals. 



29,896,700 
348,709,900 
765,793,750 



1,144,310,350 



$11,170,512 18 



75,ull 



FINANCIAL RECORD. 

PART IV. 
August Statement of tlae Public Debt, 



225 



Statement of the Public »ebt of th? United States for August 31, 1S82. 

INTEREST-BEARING DEBT. 



Title of Loan. 



Loan of 1863, ('Si's) 

Funded Loan of 1881 . . . 
Funded Loan of 1891... 
Funded Loan of 1907 . . . 
Refunding Certificates. . 
Navy- Pension Fund — 



Rate. 



When Re- 
deemable. 



6 per ct., cont'd at 3% per ct. June 30. 1S81. 

5 per ct... .do do May 1, 1581. 

4 1 /. Der ct Sept. 1, 1891. 

4 per Ct .[July 1, 1907. 

4 per ct J 

3 per ct 



Aggregate of Interest-bearing Debt. 



Total amount 
outstanding. 



$32,755,400 00 
401,196,900 00 
250,000.000 CO 
738,909.350 00 
442.100 00 
14,000,000 00 



1.437,603,750 00 



Interest 
due and 
Unpaid. 



$21,014 63 

562,195 35 

209,418 40 

1,077,776 63 

55,675 06 



1,926,080 (•' 



Accrued 
Interest. 



$191,073 17 
1 171,032 62 
2,812.500 00 
4.926,062 33 
2.947 3S. 
70,000 00 



9,173.615 45 









Principal. 


interest. 


Totals.. 


Interest-bearing debt— Bonds at 6 per cent, 
cont'd at 3J4 per ct. 


§32,755,400 00 

401,496.900 0( 
250,000,000 00 
738,y09,3o0 0( 
442,100 00 
14,000,000 00 








Bonds at 5 per cent, 
cont'd at Z% per ct. 








Bonds at 4U per cent. 








Bonds at 4 per cent.. 








RefundingCertificales 









Navy-Pension Fund. 










81,487,603,750 00 
12.472,725 26 


811,099,695 52 
500,251 91 




Debt on which interest has ceased since ma- 






Debt bearing no int.— Old Demand and Legal 


346,740,611 00 
12,0CO,0GO 00 

74,432,250 Or: 
7,032 




tender Note.-; 




Certificates of Deposit. . 








Gold and Silver Certifi- 
cate? 








Fractional Currency.. . 










440,201,927 77 






Unclaimed Pacific- 






Railroad Interest 


v- '■ 6 




Total Debt 




1,890,281,403 03 


11,605.287 39 


81,901,886,690 42 
242.960,518 46 


Total Cash in the Treasury 






' 






Debt, less Cash in the Treasury, Sept. 1, 18S2. 


1 .,171 06 
1 1,433 20 


Debt, less Cash in the Treasury, Aug. 1, 1882. 


! 


! 






; 






Decrease of Debt during the month 


16,128,261 24 










Decrease of Debt since June 30, 1S82 


V'SS 76 




i 




. 


Interest accrued font unpaid at close 


Ju 
Ju 

Ju 
Ju 
Ju 

Ju 
Ju 


ly 1, 1876 38,514,004 


of each Fiscal Year. 


ly 1, 1877 40,882 791 




ly 1, 1778 30,404 551 


The following table shows the inter- 


ly 1, 1879 30 792 351 


est due and accrued but unpaid at 
close of each fiscal year since 1870 : 

July 1, 1870 $50,607 


the 

,556 
,766 
,813 
,652 
,087 
,556 


lyl, 1880 22,845,547 

y 1, 1881 20,948,657 

lyl, 1882 13,890,986 


July 1, 18T1 45,030 




July 1, 1873 41 705 




July 1, 1873 42,350 


Showing a decrease, since 1870, of the 


July 1, 1874 38,939 


accrued and unpaid interest at the close 


July 1, 1875 38,647 


of the fiscal year of $36,716,570. 





FINANCIAL RECORD. 



I»A.HT V-The Currency: 



Statement Showing the Amount of Xotes and Fractional Silver Coin Outstanding- 
at the Close of Each Fiscal Year from I860 to 1882 inclusive. 

Prepared at the Treasury Department, Warrant Division, August 31,1882. 



Year. 



State-Bank 
Circulation. 

(a.) 



National 
Bank Circu- 
lation. 



Demand 
Notes. 



Legal -tender 
Notes. 



One and Two 

Year Notes 

of 1863, 

(b.) 



Compound- 
Interest 
.Notes. 



1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
18*4 
1875 
1876 
1877 
3878 
1879 
1880 
1881, 
1882. 



8207,102,477 00 

202,005,767 00 

183,792,079 00 

238,677,218 00 

179,157,717 00 

142,919,638 00 

19,996,163 00 

4,484,112 00 

3,163,771 00 

2,558,874 00 

2,222,793 00 

1,968,058 00 

1,700,935 00 

1,294,470 00 

1,009,0.-1 00 

786,844 00 

658,938 00 

521,611 00 

426,504 00 

352,452 00 1 

299,790 00 

242,967 00 

235,173 00 



#31,235,270 00 
146,137,860 00 
281,479,908 00 
298,625,379 00 
299,762,855 00 
299,929,624 00 
299,766,984 00: 
318,261,241 00 
337,664,795 00 
347,267,061 00 1 
351,981,032 00 
354,408,008 00 
332,998,336 00 
317,048,872 00 
324,514,284 00 
329,691,697 00 ! 
344,505,427 00 
355,042,675 00 
358,742,034 00! 



$53,040,000 00 

3,351,019 75 
780,999 25' 
472,603 00 
272 162 00 
208,432 00 
141,723 00 
123,739 25 
106,256 00 
96,505 50 

88.296 25 
79,967 50 
76,732 50 
70,107 50 
66,917 50 
63.962 50 

62.297 50 
61,470 00 
60,975 00 
60,535 00 
59,695 00 



896,620,000 
297,767,114 00 
431,178,670 84 
432,687,966 00 
400,619,206 00 
371,783,597 00 
356.000,000 00 
356,000,000 00 
356,000,000 00 
356,000,000 00 
357,500.000 00 
356,000,000 00 
382,0 K).000 00 
375.771,580 00 
369,772,284 00 
359,764,332 00 
346.681,016 00 
346,6S1,016 00 
546,681,016 00J 
346,681,016 00 
346,681,016 001 



$89,879,475 00 

153.471,450 00 

42.338,710 00 

3,454.230 00 

1,123,630 00 

555,462 00 

347,772 00 

248,272 00 

198,572 00 

167,522 00 

142,105 00 

127,625 00 

113,375 06 

104,703 00 

95,725 00 

90,485 CO 

86,185 00 

82,485 00 

79,98") 00 

74,965 00 



§15,000,000 00 

193,756,080 00 

159,012,140 00 

122,394,480 00 

28,161,810 00 

2,871,410 00 

2,152,910 00 

768,500 00 

593,520 00 

479,400 00 

415,210 00 

367,390 00 

328,760 00 

296,630 00 

274.920 00 

259,0J0 00 

242,590 00 

230,250 00 

220,960 00 



TABLE CONTINUED. 



Year. 


Silver Cer- 
tificates. 


Fractional 

Currency, 

Paper. 


Fractional 
Currency, 

Silver. 

(c.) 


Total amount 

in 

Currency. 


Value of Paper Dollar 
as compared with 
Coin July 1 of each 
year. 


Value of 
Currency 
in Gold. 


I860 




$°07 10\477 00 






1861 


1 


202,005,767 00 
333,452,079 00 






1862 


j 


SO Sfi fi 


$ 9 88,769 -"00 41 


1863 





$20, 19 .',456 00 
22,894.877 25 
25,005,828 76 
27,070,876 96 
28,307,523 52 
32,626,951 75 
32,114,637 36 
39,87S,681 48 
40,582,874 56 
40.855.835 27 
44,799,365 44 
45,881,295 67 
42,129,424 19 
34,446,595 39 
20,403,137 34 
16,547,768 77 
15,842,605 78 




649.867,282 75 76.6 
833,718,98134! 38.7 
983,318,685 76 j 70.4 
891,904,685 96| 66.0 
8 9 6,9'>7,153 52 71 7 


497,798,338 59 
322,649,246 94 
692,256,354 77 
588 657 092 73 


1864 






1865 






1866 






1867 






59°, 906 769 07 


1868 






720,412,602 75 
693,946,056 61 
700,375,899 48 
717,875,751 06 
738,570,903 52 
750,062,368 94 
781,190,916 17 
773 646,728 69 


70.1 
73.5 
85 6 
89.0 
87.5 
86.4 
91.0 
87.2 
89.5 
94.7 

99.4 

1 00.0 
1 00.0 
1 00.0 
1 00.0 


505,009,234 52 
510,050,351 61 
599,521 769 95 


1369 






1870 







1871 






638,909,418 44 
646,249,540 58 
648,053,886 76 
711 150,733 71 


1872 *..... 







1873 


::::::::::::: 




1874 






1875 







674,619,947 42 
671,773 937 62 


1876 




$10,926,938 00 
33,185,273 00 
39,155,633 00 
SQ.sfin.5oo on 


749,303,473 89 
731,379,542 84 
729,215,508 27 
734,801,994 78 
735,522,956 37 
780,584,808 73 
798,288.440 13 


1877 




694,375 9 46 54 


1878 


$1,462,600 00 

2,466,950 00 
12,374,270 00 
51 166,530 00 
66,096,710 00 


725,083,924 62 
734,801,994 78 
735,522,956 37 
780,584,808 73 
798,288,440 13 


1879 


1880 


*7,214,954 37 94.nfii.44-Q on 


1881 

1882 


*7,105,953 32 
•7,047,247 77 


19,974,897 41 
19,130,639 36 





(a.)— The amount of State and national-bank circulation is compiled from the reports of the Comp- 
troller of the Currency at the nearest dates obtainable to the end of each fiscal year ; the other amounts are 
taken from the official printed reports of the Secretary of the Treasury. 

*Exclusive of $8,375,934, amount estimated as lost or destroyed, act June 21, 1879. 

(to.) — The one and two-year notes of 1863, and the compound-interest notes, though having a legal- 
tender quality for their face-values, were in fact interest-bearing securities, payable at certain times, as 
stated on the notes. They entered into circulation for but a few davs, if at all, and, since maturity, those 
presented have been converted into other interest-bearing bonds, or paid for in cash, interest included. 

(c.)— The amount of fractional silver in circulation in 1860, 1861, and 1862 cannot be stated. The 
amounts stated for 1876, and subsequent years, are the amounts coined and issued since January, 1876. To 
these amounts should be added the amount of silver previously coined which has come into circulation. 



FINANCIAL RECORD. 



227 



The following statement shows the average rate of interest payable annually on the interest- 
bearing debt of the United States for tne years named. 



July 1,1856 05X8 July 1,1669 



Aug. 3 
July 1. 



1857. 
1858. 
1859. 
I860. 
1861. 
1862. 
186S. 
1864. 
1865. 
.1865. 
1866. 
1867. 
1868. 



.0587 
.0347 
.0536 



.0532 
.0563 
.0603 
.0591 
."579 
.0620 
.0634 
.0626 
.0617 
.0583 



1870. 
1871. 
1872. 
1873. 
1874. 
1875. 
1876. 
1877. 
1878. 
1879. 
1880. 
1881. 
1882. 



.0580 
.0580 
.0578 
.0573 
.0573 
.0568 
.0562 
.0556 
.0544 
.0327 
.0466 
.0462 
.0457 
.0390 



Amount of Currency to Each Individual 
—In 1860 only 86.5S to each Individual 
-In 1882 815.12 to Each Individual. 

In 1860 the population of the country 
was 31,443,321, and the amount of cur- 
rency was $207,102,477.00 or $6.58 for 
each individual. In 1882 the population 
is estimated to be 52,799,000, and the 
amount of currency is $798,288,440.13; 
or $15.12 for each individual. 

Interest-Bearing- Xotes were in Circu- 
lation — Aggregate Currency in 1865 
851,065.544 less than the Aggregate 
of Circulation in 1882— Xo Scarcity of 
Money. 

The one and two year notes of 1863 
and the compound interest notes were 
never in circulation to any extent, be- 



cause they bore interest, but they are 
considered in the foregoing statement 
as being part of the currency of the 
country. If they be taken from the 
amount of the currency — say of 1865— it 
will be seen that the circulating medium 
for that year, instead of being $983,- 
318,685.76, was only $747,223,895.76; or 
$51,064,544.37 less than it is now. But 
the real value of the actual circulation 
of 1865, less the amount of the interest- 
bearing notes, at the gold standard, was 
only about $526,045,622.61, while the 
actual value of the present circulation is 
$798,288,440.13 ; and these facts demon- 
strate that, if there is any scarcity or 
money among the people at the present 
time, it is due to commercial reasons and 
not to the policy of the Government. 



FINANCIAL RECORD. 



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230 



FINANCIAL RECORD. 



PART VI. 

Aggregate and Annual Re- 
duction of£xpense§. 

Aggregate Reduction in 12 years under 
the Republicans of $250,491,279,28, or 
an average Annual Reduction for 12 
years of $20,957,606.60 ! 

With results so great and beneficial in 
behalf of Government and people — up- 
holding the national integrity and main- 
taining and sustaining the public credit 
at home and abroad; the reduction of 
the intere st-bearing debt an d of in ter est , 
aggregating a savin gin seventeen years 
of $1,673,798,471.34, or an annual aver- 
age reduction and saving for seventeen 
years of $98,458,733.61; the resumption 
of specie payments, the restoration of 
the paper dollar of our currency to the 
gold standard, securing at the same time 
a robust revival of nearly all branches 
of our previously languishing industries, 
opening out and securing new markets 
at home and abroad for their products, 
and commanding an immense prepond- 
erance in our favor, hundreds of mil- 
lions annually, in our foreign trade — 
with financial triumphs so grand and 
beneficial, the product of Republican 
patriotism and ability, of the good faith 
of the Republicans in authority, and ac- 
complished in despite of all the craft and 
and determined ihostility of the Demo- 
cratic and other enemies of the Repub- 
lic, the expenditures orexpensesof Gov- 
ernment have also been steadily reduced. 

The following table, prepared from 
the Fin ance Reports, shows the aggregate 
and average annual saving to the peo- 
ple from a reduction of expenses from 
1865 to 1882. 

Net ordinary expenses of the Government, exclu- 
sive of the public debt, premium and interest, 
with the reduction of the same from 1865 to 
1882. 

1865. .$1,217,704,199 28. .Maximum. 

1866.. 385,954,731 43.. E eduction. .$831,749,467 85 

1867.. 202,947,733 87. .Reduction. . 183,006,997 56 

1868.. 229,915,088 11.. Increase.... 26,967,354 24 

1869.. 190,496,354 95.. Reduction.. 39,418,733 16 

1870.. 164,421,507 15. .Reduction. . 26,074,847 80 

1871.. 157,583,827 58. .Reduction. . 6,837,679 57 

1872.. 153,201,856 19.. Reduction.. 4.381,971 39 

1873.. 180,488.636 90.. Increase 27.286,780 71 

1874.. 194,118,985 00.. Increase 13,630,348 10 

1875.. 171.529,848 27.. Reduction.. 22,589,136 73 

1876.. 164,857,813 36.. Reduction.. 6.672.034 91 

1877.. 144,209,963 28.. Reduction.. 20,647,850 08 

1878.. 134,463,452 15. .Reduction.. 9,746,511 13 

1879. . 161,619,934 53. . Increase 27,156,482 38 

1880.. 169,090,062 25.. Increase 7,470,127 72 

1881.. 177,142,897 63.. Increase 8,052,835 38 

1882.. 186,904,232 78.. Increase 9,761,335 15 

Aggregate reduction from 1865 to 

1882 Of $030,799,966 50 

Aggregate reduction from 1866 to 

1882 Of 199,050,498 65 

Average annual reduction and 

savings from 1866 to 1882 of 12,440 656 16 

An aggregate reduction in 17 years, 



from 1865 to 1882, of $1,030,799,966.50— 
an aggregate reduction inl6years, from 
1866, the year following the maximum of 
annual expenditures, to 1882, of $199,- 
050,498.56, or an annual average reduc- 
tion and saving of $12,440,656.16. 

But if we strike from the above table, 
as we justly should, the aggregate of 
four years' increase (1879, 1880, 1881, and 
1882) under the Democracy, we have an 
actual aggregate saving in twelve years 
under the Republicans of $251,491,279.- 
28, or an average annual saving for 
twelve years of $20,957,606.60. 

Receipts and Expenditures prior to 1861 
only 13.08 per cent, of tlie Amounts 
collected and disbursed from July 1, 
1861, to June 30, 1883. 

The whole amount of money received 
by the Government as shown by the 
official records to have been covered in- 
to the National Treasury from March 4, 
1789, to June 3^, 1861, amounted to $2,- 
263,660,610.68, and from July 1, 1861, to 
June 30, 1882, to $17,304,799,322.76, 

These figures show that the total re- 
ceipts from the organization of the Gov- 
ernment to the commencement of the 
administration of the Republican party 
(a period of 78i years) were only 13 08 
per cent, of the amount received during 
the present party administration of 21 
years. 

The gross expenditures from the Na- 
tional Treasury for all purposes from 
March 4, 1789, to June 30, 1861, amounted 
to $2,230,947,173.21, and from July 1, 
1861, to June 30, 1882, to $17,059,399,990.17, 
or a total expenditure for the first 
period of 78+ years of only 13.08 per cent, 
of the latter period. 

In other words, the amount of money, 
received and disbursed by the Govern- 
ment for the first 78£ years of its exist- 
ence was but 13.08 percent, of the amount 
which has been received and disbursed 
by the Republican party during the 21 
years ending June 30, 1882. 

Losses in Collections and Disburse- 
ments— Average loss per 1,000 from 
1661 to 1882, only 40 4-10 cents— Under 
President Arthur not the loss of $1 
from any Source whatever. 

From March 4, 1789, to June 30, 1861, 
the losses on receipts amounted to $4,- 
734,020.24, or in a ratio of $2.09 for each 
$1,000 received. From July 1, 1861, to 
June 30, 1882, the losses on receipts 
amounted to $4,260,355.04, or in a ratio of 
24i cents for each $1,000 received. 

From March 4, 1789, to June 30, 1861, 
the losses on disbursements amounted to 
$18,899,268.23, or in a ratio of $8.47 for 
each $1,000 disbursed. 

From July 1, 1861, to June 30, 1882, the 
losses on disbursements amounted to 
^9,628,569.75, or in a ratioof 56 4-lOcents, 
for each $1,000 disbursed. 



FINANCIAL RECORD. 



231 



In other words, the amount of money 
involved from March 4, 1789, to June 30, 
1861, was $4,494,607,783.89, on Which the 
losses amounting to $23,633,288.99 aver- 
age $5.26 per $1,000; and from July 1, 
1861. to June 30, 1882, with an aggregate 
of $34,364,199,312.93, the losses have 
amounted to $13,888,944.26, or an aver- 
age of 40 4-10 cents per $1,000. 

Such is the record of the administra- 



tion of the Republican party. It speaks 
for itself. Under its present leaders we 
have every assurance there will be no 
backward step taken. Comment is un- 
necessary. Iu this connection, it is 
worthy of note, that since President 
Arthur assumed his office there has not 
occurred a loss to the Government from 
any source whatever of even a siugle 
dollar. 



Actual Reduction of Internal Revenue Taxation 



Annual Reduction. 



Act of Jul y 1 3, 1S66 

Act of March 2, 1867 

Act of February 3, 18(58 

Act of March 31,1868 \ 

Actof July 20, 1868 / "" 

Act Of July 14, 1870 

Income-Tax Expired December 31, 1870. 

Act of June 6, 1872 

Act of Maron. 1, 1S79 



£65,000,000 
40,000.000 
23,000,000 

45,000,000 

55.000,000 

13,500 000 

20,651,000 

0,000,000 



Total. 



ri,i5i,ooo 



Reduction of Customs Taxes. 



Actual reduction— 1873. 
Actual reduction — 1874. 
Actual reduction — 1875 . 



.$28,208,774.07 
. 24,985,689.01 
. 6,370,286.76 

$59,564,749.81 



232 



REPUBLICAN ECONOMY. 



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REPUBLICAN ECONOMY. 

PART II. 



233 



Statement of the Appropriations Made by Congress for the Fiscal Years 1882 
and 1883. by Appropriation Acts. 



3d session 

!46th Congress 

Fiscal Year 

1882. 



1st session 

47th Congress 

Fiscal Year 

1883. 



To supply deficiencies for the services of the various branches of the 

Government 

For Legislative, Executive, and Judicial expenses of the Government. 

For Sundry Civil Expenses of the Government 

For Support of the Army 

For the Naval Service 

For the Indian Service 

For Rivers and Harbors 

For Forts and Fortifications 

For Support of Military Academy 

For Service of Post-Office Department (deficiency in revenue) 

For Invalid and other Pensions (including deficiencies) 

For Consular and Diplomatic Service 

For Service of Agricultural Department 

For Expenses of District of Columbia 

For Miscellaneous : 



$5,110,862.39 
17,797,397.61 
22,011.222.87 
26,687.800.00 
14,566,037,55 

4,587,866.80 

11,451,300.00 

575,000.00 

322,435.37 

2,152,258.00 
68,282.306.68 

1,191,435.00 
335.500.00 

3,379.571.44 

1,128,006.15 



*S9,800 

*20,000, 

'25,000 

27,258, 

14,879, 

5,215. 

18,988, 

375, 

335, 

1,932, 

116,000, 

1,256, 

427, 

3,496, 

*5,566, 



,000.00 
,000.00 
,000.00 
,000.00 
,789.80 
603.91 
,875.00 
000.00 
557.04 
177.90 
000.00 
655.00 
280.00 
046.58 
000.00 



Total Annual Appropriations I 179,57 



250.500,985.23 



* Approximated. 

Annual Appropriations for 1883 (approximated) $250,500,000.00 

Appropriations out of the Postal Revenues, for Post-Office De- 
partment, 1883 44,643,900.00 

Total for 1883 

Annual Appropriations for 1882 

Appropriations out of the Postal Revenues, for Post-Office De- 



partment, 1882 
Total for 1882.. 



179,578,999. 
40,972,432.00 



$293,143,900.00 



Increased Appropriations 1883 over 1882. 
Or, say 



220,551.431. 



* 74, 592, 468. 14 
^75,000,000.00 



TO 



Which is exclusive of the appropriation of the balance of the Geneva Award, amountin 
about $9,500,000.00. 

Note.— The table for 1882 is readjusted to show the papropriations for the District of Columbia 
and the Agricultural Departme of, separately, as these appropriations are now provided for in 
separate bills, and it differs, on this account, from the table in the Finance Renort for 1881. The 
appropriations for 1882 are also increased in the sum of $1,689,785.72 over the amount shown in the 
table in the Finance Report, which sum is 50 per cent, of the appropriations for the District of 
Columbia payable out ot the District revenues, but as the entire revenues of the District enter 
into the .general receipts of the United States Government the whole amount appropriated for 
the District should be added in the total of appropriations. 

The table for 1883 shows an aggregate appropriation of $250,500,000. approximated. The exaet 
totals of several of the appropriation a:-t> cannot now he given ow'.n ; to th^ increased work re - 
quired to adjust the appropriations for the year in consequence of tiie passage of the Joint Reso- 
lutions of the last session of Congress continuing appropriations on the basis of last vear until 
the regular bills became laws. 

i Leaving specifically unaccounted for 

The above tal)le was prepared at the anincreaseof 1,958,72534 

United States Treasury Department, i Mr. Allison thus makes the asraregate 
Mr. Allison, of Iowa, chairman of the j increase 877,532,621.34, as against the 
Senate Finance Committee, in his re- ! Treasury estimate above of 875,000,000. 



view, in the Senate, of the appropria- 
tions of 1883, thus states the increase : 

Total increase $77,532,621 34 

Enumerated items of increase : 

For pensions $47,717,693 00 

Rivers and harbors 7,196,075 00 

Deficiencies of last year 

appropriated this vear 13.205.951 00 
Post-Office (paid out of 

postal revenues) 3,686,468 00 

Additional clerics for 

Pension Office 1.742.430 00 

Water supply, city of 

Washington ' 1,485,279 oo 

Tenth census deficiency 540,000 00 



75,573.896 00 ! lows 



Mr. Allison shows that every item of 
increase is not oniy made necessarv by 
the large and rapid growth of the conn- 
try, but by obligations created bv pre- 
j vions Congresses. The present Con- 
gress had either to honorably appropri- 
priate the necessary sums to meet them 
I or to openly repudiate them. He shows 
seriatim the character and amount of 
I each item. Of the increase of $23,066,- 
1 938 in miscellaneous appropriations, 
: $19,516,574 were to supply deficiencies in 
the appropriations of last year, as fol 



234 



REPUBLICAN ECONOMY. 



Pension deficiencies for 

1882 $16,000,000 00 

Urgent deficiences, mis- 
cellaneous 1,952,074 06 

Tenth census,defieiency . 540,000 00 

Public printing and bind- 
ing, deficiency 465,000 00 

Dies, paper, and stamps, 
deficiency, 1882 345,000 00 

Fees of witness in United 
States courts, 1882 70,000 00 

Fuel, lights. &c, for pub- 
lic buildings under 
Treasury Department, 
deficiency, 1882 64,500 00 

Supplies for Arrapalioe, 
Cheyenne,&c, Indians, 
deficiency, 1882 80,000 00 



-$19,516,574 06 

The remainder was for public build- 
ings. 

The largest item of increase was for 
pensions : $47,717,693, over 61 per cent, 
of the aggregate increase, and including 
a deficiency of $16,000,000 in the pension 
appropriation of last year. This in- 
crease was made necessary by the ar- 
rears of pensions act. What was Con- 
gress to do *? Aj)propriate the necessary 
sum, or repudiate its obligation under 
the act ? What say the Democracy ? 

The next increase of appropriations 
is for rivers and harbors, and almost 
wholly for the improvement of the Mis- 
sissippi and Missouri rivers. That is an 
improvement rendered necessary by the 
vast and increasing tonnage and traffic 
of the rivers, and the demand of the 
country for cheap transportation of the 
immense grain and other products of 
the great west. It is thus an improve- 
ment and appropriation in the interest 
of the whole people. It is one long 
needed, and one which could no longer 
be ignored. Besides, it was, as Mr. Alli- 
son shows, a non-partisan appropria- 
tion, being voted for by both Demo- 
crats and Republican. 



The increase for the Post Office De- 
partment is merely a nominal increase ; 
it is not a real increase. Every dollar 
of it will be met by the postal revenues, 
while through the savings from the fa- 
vorable contracts this year for the trans- 
portation of the mails, there will be a 
substantial reduction of over $2,000,000. 

The increase caused by the addition 
to the pension clerical force was ren- 
dered necessary by the condition of the 
work in the Pension Office, and the 
loud demand of the invalid soldier, and 
the widows and orphans of soldiers, for 
the payment of their pensions. The 
work is years behind, and the appro- 
priation could not in justice be with- 
held. N or could the appropriation for 
the Mississippi sufferers. It was one 
demanded by every Christian principle. 

The increase for the General Land 
Office will, as Senator Beck showed, be 
made up by the more rapid sales of pub- 
lic lands, while the increase for the 
Patent Office will be paid for, not by the 
people, but by inventors. An import- 
ant fact in connection witli this increase 
is that these appropriations cover all 
the probable wants of the Government. 
No deficiencies are eipected. And Mr. 
Allison shows that if we exclude the 
above increase for extraordinary expen- 
ditures and deficits and "the increase 
of this vear for public buildings, amount- 
ing in all to $2,829,500," the appropri- 
ations for the ordinary expenses of the 
Government "are less than for last 
year." Mr. Allison said : 

I think I can say to the Senate that under the 
circumstances this is a most satisfactory con- 
clusion of the appropriations of this year, when 
we take into account the circumstances that 
were pressing upon the Committee on Appropri- 
ations arising from the legislation of the last 
two or three years. 



POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 

CHAPTEE XX. 



235 



National Political Platforms, 1880. 



PART I. 
Republican, 1880. 

The Republican party, in National 
Convention assembled, at the end of 
twenty years since the Federal Govern- 
ment was first committed to its charge, 
submits to the people of the United 
States this brief report of its adminis- 
tration : 

It suppressed a rebellion which had 
armed neraly a million men to subvert 
the national authority [applause;] it 
reconstructed the Union of the States 
witli freedom instead of slavery as its 
corner stone [applause;] it transformed 
4,000,000 human beings from the likeness 
of "things' 1 to the rank of citizens [ap- 
plause ;] it relieved Congress from the 
infamous work of hunting human slaves, 
and charged it to see that slavery does 
not exist [applause;] it has raised the 
value of our paper currency from 38 per 
cent, to the par of gold [applause;] it 
has restored upon a solid oasis payment 
in coin of all national obligations, and 
has given us a currency absolttely good 
and equal in every part of our extended 
country [applause;] it has lifted the 
credit of the nation from the point of 
where 6 per cent, bonds sold at 86, to 
that where 4 per cent, bonds are eagerly 
sought at a premium. [Applause.] 

Under its administration rail way shave 
increased from 31,000 miles in I860 to 
more than 82,000 miles in 1879. [Ap- 
plause.] Our foreign trade has increased 
from 6700,000,000 to $1,150,000,000 in the 
same time, and our exports, which were 
$20000,000 less than our imports in 1860, 
were $265,000,000 more than our imports 
in 1879. [Applause, and cries of "Good ! " 
" Good ! "] Without resorting to loans, 
it has, since the war closed, defrayed 
the ordinary expenses of the govei nment 
besides the accruing interest on the 
public debt, and has disbursed annually 
more than $30,000,000 for soldiers' and 
sailors 1 pensions. It has paid $800,000,000 
of the public debt, and, by refunding 
the balance at lower rates, has reduced 
the annual interest charge from nearly 
$150,000,000 to less than $89,000,000. All 
the industries of the country have re- 
vived, labor is in demand, wages have 
increased, and throughout the entire 
country there is evidenoe of a coming 
prosperity greater than we have ever 



enjoyed. Upon this record the Repub- 
lican party asks for the continued con- 
fidence and support of the people, and 
this convention submits for their ap- 
proval the following statement of the 
principles and purposes which will con- 
tinue to guide and inspire its efforts: 

1. We affirm that the work of the Re- 
publican party for the last twenty years- 
has been such as to commend it to the 
favor of the nation; that the fruits of the 
costly victories which we have achieved 
through immense difficulties should be 
preserved; that the peace regained 
should be cherished; that the Union 
should be perpetuated, and that the 
liberty secured to this generation should 
be transmitted undiminished to other 
generations ; that the order established 
and the credit acquired shouid never be 
impaired; that the pensions promised 
should be paid ; that the debt so much 
reduced should be extinnuished by the 
full payment of every dollar thereof ; 
that the reviving industries should be 
further promoted, and that the com- 
merce already increasing should be en- 
couraged. 

2. The Constitution of the United 
States is a supreme law, and not a mere 
contract. [Applause.] Out of confed- 
erated States it made a sovereign nation . 
Some powers are denied to the nation, 
while others are denied to the States, 
but the boundary between the powers 
delegated and those reserved is to be 
detei mined by the national, and not by 
the State tribunal. [Cheers.] 

3. The work of popular education is- 
one left to the care of the several States, 
but it is the duty of the national Gov- 
ernment to aid that work to the extent 
of its constitutional ability. The intel- 
ligence of the nation is but the aggregate 
in the several States, and the destiny of 
the nation must be guided, not by the 
genius of one State, but by the average 
genius of all. [Applause.] 

4. The constitution wisely forbids 
Congress to make any la w respecting the 
establishment of religion, but it is idle 
to hope that the nation can be protected 
against the influence of secret sectarian- 
ism, while each State is exposed to its 
domination. We, therefore, recommend 
that the Constitution be so amended as 
to lay the same prohibition upon the 
legislature of each State, and to forbid 
the appropriation of public funds to the 



236 



POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 



support of sectarian schools. [Cheers.] 

5. We reaffirm the belief avowed in 
1876 that the duties levied for the pur- 
pose of revenue should so discriminate 
as to favor American labor [cheers] ; 
that no further grants of the public do- 
main should be made to any railway or 
other corporation ; that slavery having 
perished in the States, its twin bar- 
barity, polygamy must die in the Terri- 
tories ; that everywhere the protection 
accorded to a citizen of American birth 
must be secured to citizens by American 
adoption. That we deem it the duty of 
Congress to develop and improve our 
seacoast and harbors, but insist that fur- 
ther subsidies to private persons or cor- 
porations must cease [cheers] ; that the 
obligations of the Republic to the men 
who preserved its integrity in the day of 
battle are undiminished by the lapse of 
fifteen years since their final victory. 
To do them honor is and shall forever 
be the grateful privilege and sacred 
duty of the American people. 

6. Since the authority to regulate im- 
migration and intercourse between the 
United States and foreign nations rests 
with the Congress of the United States 
and the treaty-making power, the Re- 
publican party, regarding the unre- 
stricted immigration of Chinese as a 
matter of grave concernment under the 
exercise of both these powers, would 
limit and restrict that immigration by 
the enactment of such just, humane, and 
reasonable laws and treaties as will pro- 
duce that result. 

7. That the purity and patriotism 
which characterized the earlier career of 
Rutherford B. Hayes in peace and war, 
and which guided the thoughts of our 
immediate predecessors to him for a 
Presidential candidate, have continued 
to inspire him in his career as Chief Ex- 
ecutive ; and that history will accord to 
his Administration the honors which are 
due to an efficient, just, and courteous 
discharge of the public business, and 
will honor his vetoes interposed be- 
tween the people and attempted partisan 
laws. [Cheers.] 

8. We charge upon the Democratic 
party the habitual sacrifice of patriot- 
ism and justice to a supreme and insati- 
able lust for office and patronage ; that I 
to obtain possession of the National i 
Government and control of the place, 
they have obstructed all efforts to pro- 
mote the purity and conserve the free- 
dom of the suffrage, and have devised 
fraudulent ballots, and invented fraud- 
ulent certification of returns; have la- 
bored to unseat lawfully elected mem- 
bers of Congress, to secure at all haz- 
ards the vote of a majority of States in 
the House of Representatives ; have en- 
deavored to occupy by force and fraud 
the places of trust given to others by 
the people of Maine, rescued by the 



courage and action of Maiue's patriotic 
sons; have, by methods vicious in prin- 
ciple and tyrannical in practice, at- 
tached partisan legislation to appropria- 
tion bills upon whose passage the very 
movement of Government depended ; 
have crushed the rights of the individ- 
ual; have advocated the principles and 
sought the favor of the Rebellion against 
the nation, and have endeavored to ob 
literate the sacred memories and to over- 
come the inestimably valuable results 
of nationality, personal freedom, and 
individual equality. 

The equal, and steady, and com plete 
enforcement of the laws, and the pro- 
tection of all our citizens in the enjoy- 
ment of all privileges and immunity 
guaranteed by the Constitution, are the 
first duties of the nation. [Applause.] 

The dangers of a "solid South" can 
only be averted by a faithful perform- 
ance of every promise which the nation 
has made to the citizen. [Applause.] 
The execution of the laws, and the pun- 
ishment of all those who violate them, 
are the only safe methods by which an 
enduring peace can be secured and gen- 
uine prosperity established throughout 
the South. [Applause.] Whatever 
promises the nation makes the nation 
must perform. A nation cannot with 
safety relegate this duty to the States. 
The " solid South" must be divided by 
the peaceful agencies of the ballot and 
all honest opinions must there find free 
expression. To this end the honest 
voter must be protected against terror- 
ism, violence, or fraud. [Applause.] 

And we affirm it to be the duty and 
the purpose of the Republican party to 
use all legitimate means to restore all 
the States of this Union to the most per- 
fect harmony which may be possible, 
and we submit to the practical, sensible 
people of these United States to say 
whether it would not he dangerous to 
the dearest interests of our country at 
this time to surrender the administra- 
tion of the National Government to a 
party which seeks to overthrow the ex- 
isting policy under which we are so 
prosperous, and thus bring distrust and 
and confusion where there is now order, 
confidence, and hope. [Applause.] 

The Republican party, adhering to 
the principles affirmed by its last Na- 
tional Convention of respect for the con- 
stitutional rules governing appoint- 
ments to office, adopts the declaration 
of President Hayes that the reform of" 
the civil service should be thorough, 
radical, and complete. To this end it 
demands the co-operation of the legis- 
lative with the executive departments 
of the Government, and that Congress 
shall so legislate that fitness, ascer- 
tained by proper practical tests, shall 
admit to the public service. 



POLITICAL PLATFORMS. 



237 



»eiiioeratic--1880. 

The Democrats of the United States, 
in Convention assembled, declared — 



PART II. tue seat of a usurper by billeting vil- 

lians upon the people. 

9. The resolution of Samuel J. Til den, 
not again to be a candidate for the 
exalted place to which he was electedby 
a majority of his countrymen, and from 
Avhicli lie was execluded by the leaders 

1. We pledge ourselves anew to the j of the Republican party, is received by 
constitutional doctrines and traditions the Democrats of the United States 
oi the Democratic party, as illustrated | with sensibility, and they declare their 
by the teachings and example of a long } confidence in his wisdom, patriotism and 
line of Democratic statesmen and pa- i integrity, unshaken by the assaults of a 
triots and embodied in the platform of | common enemy, and they further assure 
the last National Convention of the I him that he is followed into the retire- 
party. I ment he has chosen for himse If by the sy m- 

2. Opposition to centralizationism, and pathy and respect of his fellow-citizens, 
to that dangerous spirit of encroach- ; who regard him as one who, by elevat- 
ment which tends to cnnsolidate theiing the standards of public morality, 
powers of all the departments in one; j merits the lasting gratitude of his coun- 



and thus to create, whatever be the form 
of government, a real despotism. No 
sumptuary laws ; separation of Church 
and State, for the good of each ; com- 
mon schools fostered and protected. 

3. Borne rule; honest money — the 
strict maintenance of the public faith — 
consisting of gold and silver, and paper 
convertible into coin on demand ; the 
strict maintenance of the public faith 
State and National, and a tariff for 
revenue only. 

4. The subordination of the military 
to the civil power, and a general and 
through reform of the civil service. 

5. The right to a free ballot is the 
right preservative of all rights, and must 
and shall be maintained in every part of j against the 
the United States. mime. 

6. The existing Administration is the 14. We congratulate the country upon 
representative of conspiracy only, and the honesty and thrift of a Democratic 
its claim of right to surround the bal- | Congress which has reduced the public 



try and his party. 

10. Free ships and a living chance for 
American commerce on seas and on the 
land. No discrimination in favor of 
transportation lines, corporations of 
monopolies. 

11. Amendment of the Burlingame 
Treaty. No more Chinese immigration, 
except for travel, education, and foreign 
commerce, and therein carefully guard- 
ed. 

12. Public money and public credit for 
public purposes solely, and public land 
for actual settlers. 

13. The Democratic party is thefriend 
I o£ labor and the laboring man, and 
j pledges itself to protect him alike 

cormorant and the corn- 



expenditure $40,000,000 a year ; upon 
the continuation of prosperity at home 
and the National honor abroad, and, 
above all, upon the promise of such a 
change in the administration of the 
Government as shall insure us genuine 
and lasting reform in every department 



PART III. 



lot-boxes with troops and deputy mar- 
shals, to intimidate and obstruct the 
electors, and the unprecedented use of 
the veto to maintain its corrupt and 
despotic power, insult the people and 
imperil their institutions. 

7. The great fraud of 1876-77, by which, , 
upon a false count of the electoral votes or the public service. 
of two States, the candidate defeated at 
the polls was declared to be President, 
and, for the first time in American his- 
tory, the will of the people was set aside, 
under a threat of military violence, 
struck a deadly blow at our system of* 
representative government : the Demo- 
cratic party, to preserve the country 
from a civil war, submitted for a time 
in firm and patriotic faith that the peo- 
ple would punish this crime in 1880 : this 
issue preceded and dwarfs every other ; 
it imposes a more sacred duty upon the 
people of the Union then ever addressed 
the conscience of a nation of a free 



l*reeiil*aeli: — 188®. 

1. That the right to make and issue 
money is a sovereign power to be main- 
tained by the people for the common 
benefit. The delegation of this right to 
corporations is a surrender of the cen- 
tral attribute of sovereignty, void of the 
constitutional sanction ; conferring upon 
a subordinate irresponsible power, abso- 
lute dominion over industry and com- 
merce. All money, whether metalic or 
paper, should be issued and its volume 
ministrstion in making places in the controlled by the Government, and not 
civil service a reward for political crime, by or through banking corporations, 
and demand a reform by statute which and when so issued should be a full le- 
will make it forever impossible for the I gal tender for all debts, public and 
defeated candidate to bribe his way to private. 



men. 

8. We execrate the course of this Ad- 



23! 



POLITICAL PLATFORMS, 



2. That the bonds of the United States 
should not be refunded, but paid as 
rapidly as is practicable, according to 
contract. To enable the government to 
meet these obligations, legal-tender 
currency should be substituted for the 
notes of the National banks, the Na- 
tional banking system abolished, and the 
unlimited coinage of silver, as well as 
gold, established by law. 

3. That labor should be so protected 
by National and State authority as to 
equalize its burdens and insure a just 
distribution of its results ; the eight- 
hour law of Congress should be en- 
forced ; the sanitary condition of iu 
dustrial establishments placed under 
rigid control; the competition of con- 
tract convict labor abolished ; a bureau 
of labor statistics established : factories, 
mines, and workshops inspected ; the 
employment of children under fourteen 
years of age forbidden, and wages paid 
in cash. 

4. Slavery being simple cheap labor, 
and cheap labor being simply slavery, 
the importation and presence of Chi- 
nese serfs necessarily tends to brutal- j 
lize and degrade American labor; there- 
fore, immediate steps should be taken 
to abrogate the Burlingame Treaty. 

5. Railroad land grants forfeited by 
reason of non-fulfillment of contract 
should be immediately reclaimed by the 
government ; and henceforth the pubic 
domain reserved exclusively as homes 
for actual settlers. 

6. It is the dutv of Congress to regu- 
late inter-State Commerce. All lines of 
communication and transportation 
should be brought under such legisla- 
tive control as shall secure moderate, 
fair and uniform, rates for passenger 
and freight traiffic. 

7. We denounce as destructive to 
prosperity, and dangerous to liberty, 
the action of the old parties in foster- 
ing and sustaining gigantic land, rail- 
road and money corporations and mon- 
opolies, invested with, and exercising 
powers belonging to the government, 
and yet not responsible to it for the 
manner of their exercise. 

8. That the Constitution, in giving 
Congress the power to borrow money, 
to declare war, to raise and support 
armies, to provide and maintain a navy, 



never intended that the men who 
loaned their money for an interest con- 
sideration should be preferred to the 
soldier and sailor who peril their lives 
and shed blood on land and sea in de- 
fense of their country ; and we condemn 
the cruel class legislation of the Repub- 
lican party which, while professing 
great gratitude to the soldier, has 
imost unjustly discriminated against 
him and in favor of the bondholder. 

9. All property should bear its just 
proportion of taxation, but we demand 
a graduated income tax. 

10. We denounce as most dangerous 
the efforts everywhere manifest to re- 
strict the right of suffrage. 

11. We are opposed to an increase of 
the standing army in time of peace, 
and the insidious scheme to establish 
ad enormous military power under the 
guise of militia laws. 

12. We demand absolute Democratic 
rules for the government of Congress, 
placing all representatives of the people 
upon an equal footing, and taking 
away from committees a veto power 
greater than that of the President. 

13. We demand a government of the 
people, by the people, and for the peo- 
ple, instead of a government of the 
bondholders, by the bondholders, and 
for the bondholders ; and we denounce 
every attempt to stir up sectional strife, 
as an effort to conceal monstrous crimes 
against the people. 

14. In the furtherance of these ends 
we ask the co-operation of all fair- 
minded people. We have no quarrel 
with individuals, wage no war upon 
classes, but only against vicious insti- 
tutions. We are not content to endure 
further discipline from our present 
actual rulers, who, having dominion 
over money, over transportation, over 
land and labor, and largely over the 
press and the machinery of govern- 
ment, wield unwarrantable power over 
our institutions, and over our life and 
property. 

15. That every citizen of due age, 
sound mind, and not a felon, be fully 
enfranchised, and that this resolution 
be referrd to the States, with recom- 
mendation for their favorable consid- 
eration. 









Statistical Tables. 



Popular Vote for President from 1864 to 1880, Inclusive. 





1864. 


1868. 


is: 


» > 


1876. 


1S80. 


States. 


r— 

oft 


a 

% s 
8 


BO 


Is 

03 


5« 


o£ 




1* 


"3 a" 

ss 




o.~. 




76.366 , 
22.112 ; 
54,583 


72,088 
19.07S 
54.077 


90.282 
41,373 
54.020 


79,444 
37,927 
40,718 


68,230 
38,669 
78,614 
By Legis 
59,0:34 
10,752 
2-3,849 
50,446 
278,232 
208,011 
171.327 
78.322 
97,156 
75,135 
66,300 
71,981 
150,063 
166,534 
72,962 
52,605 
145,029 
31.916 
10.383 
41,539 
103.-517 
489,207 
108,417 
330,698 
15,206 
384,122 
15,787 
91.870 
89,566 
44.300 
44.092 
95,558 
42.698 
130,668 


102,002 
58,071 
75.845 
lature. 
61,934 
13,38i 
22.923 
130,088 
258,601 
213.526 
112,099 
37,902 
159,690 
70,636 
49,823 
91.730 
108,777 
141,095 
48,799 
112,173 
203,077 
17,554 
9,308 
33,509 
115,962 
521,949 
125.427 
323,182 
14,149 
366,157 
10,712 
90.906 
133,166 
104,755 
20,254 
139,670 
56,455 
123,927 


56,221 
42,436 
80,348 
27,4-50 
67,071 
14,133 
23,6-54 
54.086 
318,037 
232,164 
183,927 
121,549 
106.306 
38,637 
74,039 
78,515 
165,205 
185.341 
93,903 
34,854 
153,-567 
54,979 
8,732 
44,852 
120,555 
-55-5,544 
115,874 
37-5.048 
20,619 
444,704 
18,195 
58,071 
107,677 
57,893 
4-5,567 
84,020 
46,243 
144,400 


91,185 




60,775 


California 


62,134 


43,841 


80,426 
24,647 


Connecticut 

Delaware 

Florida 

Georgia 

Illinois 


44.691 

8.155 

""189,496" 
150,422 
89,075 
16,441 
27,786 

6V,803" 

40,153 
1:6,742 
91,521 
25,060 


42,285 
8,767 

"" 158,730 

131,233 
49,596 
3,691 
64.c01 

""44,211 

32.739 
48.745 
74,604 
17,375 


50,995 
7,623 
By Lesis 
57.134 
2511,303 
176,548 
120,390 
31,048 
39,566 
33,263 
70,493 
30,438 
136,477 
128.550 . 
43,545 ; 


47,952 
10,980 
lature. 
102,722 
199,143 
166,980 
74,040 
13.990 
115,89.1 
80,225 
42,460 
62,357 
59,408 
97,069 
28,075 


1U15 
17,763 
62,550 

241,944 

186,147 

131,566 
67,048 
88,766 
71,663 
61,422 
66.760 

133.472 

138,455 
55.117 
82,175 

119,196 
18,329 
8,413 
37,168 
91.656 

440,736 
94,769 

231,852 
11,819 

349.589 
13.665 
72,290 
85.655 
47,406 
41,481 
93,468 
32,315 

104,997 


45,880 
10, '.06 
15,427 
76,356 

184,938 

163,632 
71,196 
32.970 
99,995 
57,029 
29.087 
67,687 
59,260 
78,3-55 
34,423 
47,288 

151.434 
7.812 
6,2:36 

31,424 
76,456 

387,281 
70,094 

244,321 
7,730 

212,041 
5,329 
22,703 
94,391 
66,500 

ir,927 

91,6-54 
29.451 
86,477 


64,415 
15,275 
27,964 
102,470 
277,321 
225,522 


Iowa 

Kansas i 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maine 

Maryland ! 

Massachusetts 

Michigan 

Minnesota 


105,845 
59,801 

149,068 
65,037 
65,171 
93,706 

111,960 

131,597 
53,315 
75,750 


Missouri 


72,750 


31,678 


86,860 
9,729 
6,480 

38,191 
£0,131 

419,833 
96,769 i 

280,223 i 
10.961 ; 

342,23' > 
12.993 
62,301 
56,628 

44,167 


65,628 

5,439 

5,218 

31,224 

83.201 

429.883 

84,601 

238,606 

11,105 

313,382 

6,548 

45,237 

26,129 

12,045 


208,609 
28,523 




9,826 
36,400 
6U,723 
368,735 


6,594 
32,871 
68,024 
361,986 


9,613 


N. Hampshire. 

New Jersey 

New York 


40,794 
122,565 
534,511 
124,208 


Ohio 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania.. 
Ehode Island- 
South Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Vermont 


26-5,154 

9,883 

296.391 

13,692 

42,419 


205.563 
8,457 

276,316 
8,470 


340,821 

19,948 
407.428 

20.779 
112,312 
128,191 
156.428 

18,316 
128,586 

57,391 
114,649 


West Virginia. 
Wisconsin i 


23,152 
83.458 


10,438 
65,884 


29.175 
108,857 


20,306 
84.707 


Total 


2,216,067 
407,342 


1,808,727 


3,015.071 
305,458 ; 


2,709,613 


3,597,070 

762,991 


2.834,079 


4,0:33,295 
Over all. 


4,284,265 
157,394 


4,4-54,4:6 
9,464 

1 


4,444,952 
Pi'rlity 









In 1872 the Straight Democratic ticket fO'Conor) received 29.489 votes, and the Prohibition t cket 
(Black) 5,603. 

In 1876 Cooper (Greenback) received 81,737 votes, and Smith (Prohibition) 9,522 votes. The " Anti- 
Secret Society ticket" received 539 in all. There were 1,778 votes returned as " scattering'" in vari- 
ous States. Iu Michigan there were 12.937 return-das " imperfect and scattering." 

In 1S80 Weaver (Greenback) received 308,578 votes: Djw (Prohibition), 10,305 ; " American" ticket, 
707, and 9S9 "imperfect and scattering." In Louisiana the "regular" Garfield ticket pilled 28,297 
votes; the " Beattie" Garfield ticket, 10.340. In Virginia the "regular" Hancock ticket polled 96,912 
votes; the "Readjuster" HancocK ticket, 31,674. 



Year. 


Total vote. 


Year. Total vote. Year. Total vote. 


Year. 


Total vote. 


Year. Total vote. 


1824. 
1328. 
1832. 


352.062 
1,156,328 

1,217,691 


1836. 1.493.205 1843. 2.372,806 
1.840. 2,410.772 1852. 3,142.^77 
1844. 2,1093,603 1856. 4,053,967 


1860. 
1364. 
1863. 


4.676,853 
4.024,792 
5,724,624 


1S72. 6,431,149 
1876. 8.424,073 
1830. 9,299.947 



240 



STATISTICAL TABLES. 



Electoral Vote for President and Vice-President since 1868. 





i 
1868. 

i 


1872. 

1 


1876. 


M 


1880. 




Pres. 


V.P. ; 


President. 


V.P. If 


Pies. 


V. 


Pres. 1 


V.P. 


States-(38.) 


Q 


I 


o 
o 

X 


si 

! 1 


Q 

10 

t 
6 


£ 

s 
0' 


d 


O 
? 


W 
p 


< 


10 

f 

6 


td 

d 

1 


■% 


10 
6 

6 
3 

"ii 

.**!* 

"12 

"*8* 

8 
15 

C) 

35 

10 

".12* 

8 

ii 
5 

184 


g 



CD 

"*6 

3 

4 
"21 

"ii 

5 

"*8 

"ii 
ii 

*"i 

5 

2: 

29 
4 

5 

:::: 
16 

185 


1 

2 

T«! 

6| 

"*6 

3 

' ii 
"15 

"i2* 

"*8 

"*8 
15 

'"9 
35 
10 

"l2 

"ii 

1S4 


p 

B3 

re 

*"i 
3 

6 

"31" 

15 

11 

5 

7 

"i3 
11 

"*3* 

5 

"35 
22 

29 

4 

"*5* 

"io 

214 


I 

B 
p 




a 

10 
6 
5 

*3* 

4 

til 

"12 

8 
"*8 

"*8 
15 

"*3 

"*9* 

"io 

7 
12 

g 

"ii 

5 

155 


> 

—. 

& 

.... 

3 
6 

"'21 
15 
11 

7 

"is 
11 

5 

" 3 
35 

4 
"io 

214 


[ 2L, 


Alabama 


8 






g 




"*6* 

4 
"21 

"ii 

5 

"is 

11 
5 

3 
5 

1**22 
3 

29 
4 

7 


10 

6- 
5 


t 


t 


t 


t 




5 
















'■'&.. 


6 
3 


'"3 


6 

4 










6 

3 
4 






'■•si 

t 

"*s 
"*6* 

1° 








3 










3 

4 

til 




3 




















6 


2 






16 
13 

8 
3 


"ii 

7 
* 

33 
3 

7! 


Hi 
18 

s 

3 

"i2 
8 
4 

11 

3 

5 
"*9 

26 
4 
6 

10 

•8 
•214 


■::: 

7 

— 1 

1- 

33 

* 

71 


21 
15 

11 
5 

j. 
t 

"13 

11 
5 

8 

3 
3 
5 
-fi 
35 
10 
22 

29 

4 

11 






21 

15 

11 

5 








































8 
t 


4 
f 






12 

8 






t 


t 


t r 




7 




8 








8 


Massachusetts 


12 

8 
4 

11 

3 








13 

11 

5 

8 

"3 

3 

9 

35 
10 


































8 
15 




6 


g 




•1 














3 


New Hampshire 


















9 
















9 
21 










10 


Ohio 






















Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island 


26 

4 

6 

10 

5 

8 
214 






















7 




12 
8 








12 


Texas 










8 










11 

10 

286 


.... 5 














11 












5 




10 
286 










47 


10 




Total 


42 


18 


- 


1 




L85 


155 



Note.— The votes of three electors from Georgia were returned in 1872 for Horace Greeley; bul as he 
5 dead at the time the vote> were cast in the Electoral College, it was decided not to count them. 
*No vote. fRejected. JCast on second Wednesday of December. ^[19 Scattering. 



